


Fox Fire

by Decemberangel



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Alpha Derek, Angst, Dead Sheriff Stilinski, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Isaac Lahey & Stiles Stilinski are Siblings, M/M, Past Mpreg, Physical Abuse, Protective Stiles, Scars, Werefox Stiles, ooc melissa mccall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-15
Updated: 2017-04-03
Packaged: 2018-09-08 17:17:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 10
Words: 37,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8853868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Decemberangel/pseuds/Decemberangel
Summary: After nineteen years of experimentation and abuse, Stiles and Isaac are left to die in their enclosures. Abandoned by the only woman they ever depended on and loved, Melissa McCall. Or so they thought. When she comes back with them, she brings the pack and together, they bring the two home and struggle to get through to the broken teens. But there's another problem, the pack aren't the only one's who want the two for themselves.





	1. The Tomb

**Author's Note:**

> It's gonna get real heavy

It’s the fortieth day of darkness. At least, I think it’s been forty days. I’ve never gone this long without a visit from The Collector. Him and his team of scientists have yet to make their appearance. A nice lady, the only nice lady in all of this horrid place, a nurse. Melissa. Lissa as I called her when I was but a cub. She bottle fed me and was the only compassionate soul in this hellhole. She taught me how to speak. Left me tapes to listen to. Books to read when I would shift back into my human form. But it’s been forty days since her last visit. She too has abandoned me. The only woman I would ever dare call mother. But what else would I expect from a human? Surely not love. But I still find that I miss her, in all my anger and resentment towards the woman who bandaged me after beatings, cried for me when I couldn’t walk after being brutally tested upon.

On the day she abandoned me there was a great commotion and all the scientists and orderlies and anyone in this fucked up facility were in a mad dash to get out of this place. She put my enclosure on lock down. In her last act of devotion, she sealed me in this tomb with enough food to last the next few weeks. Effectively sealing my fate. I never thought she could be so cruel as to lock me in with no chance for escape and only enough food for a month. Two if I starve myself, which is currently what I’m doing. How cruel. But then again. What should I expect from a human? After a week of struggling in vain to get through the iron walls holding me in, I gave up. And at two weeks, accepted my pitiful fate. How fitting. These wretches murdered my mother and father. Seems only fitting that they finish the job. I’m not sure what The Collector did with all his other test subjects. I remember hearing scientists screaming to each other, scrambling to destroy any and all evidence of this place. That probably included all their experiments. The only solace I have now, is the small air duct in the corner of my tomb that links me to the enclosure next to mine. Where, the only reason for my sanity is housed. Isaac. He’s not a fox. No, he’s a wolf. Bought from a cruel human he called father while he was but a pup. Melissa was mother to him too. We had been acquired at the same age, still too tender to be on our own. Her warm, kind eyes giving us hope. Till she abandoned us. Isaac held out longer than I did, swearing up and down that she didn’t abandon us.

She couldn’t.

Wouldn’t.

But she did.

And eventually he believed it too.

We had both been tossed the last bit of food. The last bit of charity and then discarded. Forgotten by the very woman who breathed life and hope into us. That might just be the cruelest part of it all. Isaac and I lay by the duct all day and all night. I made my den by the duct so as to listen to his breathing at night. The only sound. The only solace in this hell. After all, we are tomb buddies. I nurse the last of my injuries still. The broken flesh on my back and hindquarters that promise scarring. And the latest experiment to enhance my hearing. My ears have thick bandages with crusted blood and pus. The smell is gut wrenching. I’ve tried cleaning them but the pain is so severe that I can’t continue to pull the wrappings off my abused cranium. But healing is slow going when you’re so hungry and weak. Both Isaac and I are still healing. But Isaac is weaker than I. He had just underwent a torturous surgery to enhance his muscle strength. I had to constantly remind him not to bite at his stitches. We lay in our animal forms, we haven’t shifted since this whole ordeal went down. I don’t want to think of the damage that’s done to our bodies in our other form. Even when this place was operational, we rarely shifted. Melissa was the only one we trusted to tend to us in our most vulnerable state. Seldom did anyone else ever see us in that form.

Another betrayal.

“I only have food to last the next two weeks. . .then. . .” Isaac whispered through the duct. His sad tone is heartbreaking.

“I know, brother. Me too.”

“We were brought in together, raised together, suffered together.” He continued.

“Now we’ll die together.” I said grimly, “Two pieces of kibble says I’ll die first.” I try to joke. Isaac laughs somberly and I can practically feel his blue eyes rolling.

“She really left us to die.” His voice cracks.

“She’s human. Just like the rest of them.” I say bitterly.

“I want to remember her as she was. Kind. Warm. Mother.” I do too, Isaac.

I really do.

I could hear his soft breathing and know that he’s fallen asleep again. I can smell the infection in both of us. I wish I could take all his pain. Get him out of here and send him away from this hell. Save him somehow. But I can’t. I wish I could save myself. Or any of the other poor souls trapped in this place as I was. My little cell, the only home I’ve ever known is where I’m going to die.

_Funny._

I had always thought I would die on the operating table during an experiment gone wrong. But fate is cruel and I was not so lucky. I want to cry out and scream and the God that put me on this Earth, or whoever thought it would be so fucking _funny_ to put me here. Or Isaac. What sick twisted omnipotent, all knowing force we have. It’s later in the day when I finally get to have my allotted two pieces of kibble. This is the part of the day I hate the most. The part where I have to scarf down Melissa’s last act of kindness. It feels like I’m baring my neck to her. I choke down the dry pebbles of nutrition and sustenance, ignore the pain in my stomach at not receiving the right amount of food. I’m dying for sure. I’m only happy that the water in this wretched place flows freely still and all I have to do is press a button with my paw and my bowl is filled with water. It’s clean and is the only thing filling my belly anymore. I wake Isaac and tell him to eat again. He grumbles into wakefulness and does as he’s told. I can see his dulled gray coat, limping towards his food. I can hear every accursed whimper from his broken body. I can smell the pain. I steel myself and force the tears away.

I refuse to cry.

I refuse to show weakness because somehow, I feel that wherever he is, The Collector is laughing and gloating at my pain. So I will not allow it. I settle back down to my poor excuse for a den and tug my tattered old blanket around myself. It gets awfully cold in these cells and now that I lack the strength to warm myself, I find that I’m freezing my tail off all the time. Isaac does the same as we settle back into our usual spots by the duct. We press our noses against the cold metal and communicate through our yipping and little whines.

Our ‘animal language’ as Melissa used to call it.

I guess that’s what we are to humans, animals.

“She could have been hurt, you saw what a mess this place was that day. She could be dead for all we know.” Isaac pointed out.

“She could. And I’ll apologize to her in the next life then.” I sighed. Isaac watched me closely.

“You look and smell like shit.” He smirked weakly.

“You’re one to talk.” I tossed back at him. He huffed out a gravelly laugh.

“Howl with me.” He asked.

“I’m a fox, you idiot. I don’t howl.” I reminded him.

“You used to do it with me when we were pups.” He says hopefully.

“That was when I thought I was a wolf.”

“Then bark you useless fox.” He tosses back at me.

“If I howl with you just this once, will you never ask me to howl again?” I bargain.

“Yes.”

“Fine. I’ll howl with you, you overgrown puppy.” I snapped.

He barked out a quick laugh before taking in a deep breath and letting out a howl. It rings painfully in my injured ears but then settles and I get used to the noise. I imitate his howl as best I could. But Like I said, I’m no wolf. His howl is beautiful. It starts out playful and hopeful. Then after a few moments, turns sour and disparaging. Feeling his emotions so deeply, because I’m experiencing them too, I join his despair and howl out my sadness. For a few more minutes, we howl at nothing. We howl at the loss of our parents.

The loss of our dignity, our bodies, our lives.

And for a moment everything hurts so fucking bad I wish I would die already. That this little extension is only cursing me more. I could just give up and not eat again. Let myself starve to death. Go to sleep, never wake up.

“I want to hold out to the end. I want to fight. Till there’s nothing left. Please fight with me, Stiles. I love you so much, brother. I can’t lose you too.” Isaac said, whimpering. And I know I could end it all tomorrow but then I would be leaving Isaac. And I can’t do that.

“I’m not dead yet, pup.” And that’s all the promise he needs from me.

“I think I would chew off my own leg for a chocolate bar right now. The ones Melissa used to bring us once and awhile.” Isaac said after a few minutes of silence.

“You bring this us now? You’re gonna kill me.” I mutter hungrily. He laughs lightly at my whining tone.

“Wherever we end up, Stiles. Promise me we’ll be together.” He whispers.

“I swear it, brother. Nothing will keep us apart. We’ve gone through hell together and we’ll get out together. One way or another.” I promise him. And I mean it. My spirit and his are linked together, forever. We are one with each other and will be like that even after we’re long dead.

Where his spirit goes, I go.

With that final promise, he slips into a deep slumber and I strain to hear his heartbeat. He’s dying, I know it. The only thing that I take comfort in, is that I’m on my way out too. I won’t live a minute without him. Fate will surely be kind enough to let us die the same second. So that I never am without the only family I’ve ever had. I’m pleading for the universe to grant me the only wish I’ve ever made. To give me one thing in this life when it’s taken everything else. Then, just like my brother, I succumb to the darkness. . . . I don’t know how long I was asleep. I’m not even sure what day it is but the one thing I’m sure of is that the metal walls around me are creaking. Isaac hears it too in his cell, his walls are shifting as well.

“It’s The Collector, I’m sure, come to finish the job. Or gloat.” He whispers bitterly. We’re both so weak that we can’t even stand to protect ourselves from whatever is standing behind that wall.

There’s shouting.

And crying and I smell tears and regret.

And. . .hope?

I want to scoff at that scent. Hope doesn’t belong in this hell hole. Then once the walls are lifted, there she stands, in all her glory.

Melissa.

In another time I might have called her an angel, our saving angel but my anger and hatred towards her has ebbed and so has my love for her. I’m only tired. And wary. My eyes meet hers with as much ice from my soul as I can muster. I’ve been stripped of everything. My dignity, my future, my hope. What could she possibly hope to gain from this.

Then it hits me, she’s come to see me die.

Seems fitting, she saw me live now she sees me die. Like an Angel of Death she stands there so beautifully wrecked. Her tear stained face and broken expression once would have tugged at my heart and made me curl against her side while she expressed every trouble ailing her in detail while I did my best to comfort her. But now I see her for what she really is.

A bystander.

An accomplice.

And my betrayal only grows. One look into Isaac’s eyes and I’ve conveyed all my thoughts in a single look. He looks reluctant to share the same belief but he knows I’m right. And he can’t deny it any longer.

“I know.” He whispers to me.

And Melissa, the Angel of Death, is not alone. No, she’s brought her reapers, her seraphs. They stand, blocking their noses from the horrid stench that is the two decaying and dying animals in front of them. If we had any left, we would have felt shame. But there is none. They all look so different. The tallest, strongest built man stands, not shielding himself. No, his black hair and green eyes are boring into my soul. The leather jacket he’s wearing is so abrasive to the eye. To me, it makes him look like a small child pretending to be tough. His stance is authoritative and it makes me want to growl.

So I do.

His stunned expression doesn’t change, only remains focused on me. He’s alluring, really. There’s a strong pull towards him and that scares me more than his intense gaze. There’s a whole gang of teenagers beside him, tearing up and crying with Melissa. A feeling of rage floods my insides. We’re on display. Have these people no shame? Or respect? I get to my feet shakily and assume the most menacing stance I can muster while leaning against the wall for support. Isaac whimpers for me to lay back down and conserve my strength but I want to fight for the two of us. I bare my teeth and growl as best I can at the sour looking male. He’s watching me in deep rapture and I wonder what it would be like to be in his arms.

No.

Don’t think that.

How dare I even think such a ridiculous thing.

I tear my eyes from the sour puss and look at Melissa. She sobbing now. I could laugh. But my priority is Isaac. If she still has some amount of love for the two of us, then she will help Isaac. At least take him outside. We’ve never been outside but have always dreamed of it. Feeling the sun on our faces, sunbathing for hours. That’s my dying wish for Isaac. So in one last attempt to reach her, I stare in her eyes and motion my head towards Isaac, then pointed my nose to the sky.

“Please just get them out of there! They need help!” Melissa shrieks. Her voice is just as lovely as I remember.

Sugary sweet.

Sour puss nods quickly the kicks at the glass that traps me. Yeah, like that’s going to get it to break. A few kicks in, the glass shatters. Well, fuck. I guess he’s a lot stronger than I thought. I fall again, this time, completely depleted of all my energy. He rushes to my side and slides off his jacket then scoops my limp form into the warm leather. I’ve never felt such warmth in all my life. And while my body is screaming at all the motion, I’m whimpering at the warmth.

Then I hear Isaac.

He’s crying for me. Panic spreads through me and I’m struggling. Wiggling to get free, to get to my brother.

“Stiles!” He calls desperately, “Stiles, please!” He’s screaming. The tan boy with floppy hair and tattoos is holding him as gently as possible, minding his still healing wounds.

“Isaac!” I call back.

“Woah, calm down.” Sour puss mutters, trying to still me but the panic at being separated from him is overwhelming and I’m crying like a wounded animal.

Oh wait.

“Brother! Don’t let them take me!” Isaac cries.

“I won’t! I swear, Isaac. I promised. Together.” I tried to assure him.

“Calm down, we’re not separating the two of you. We’re taking you out of this shit hole.” Sour puss says calmly, then something incredibly odd happens. Something I’ve never seen or felt before. He’s placed a gentle hand on my back and his veins turn black.

Then. . .there’s no pain anymore. All my pain. . .gone. I let out a strangled cry of sheer relief and sag into his arms. All of my fight gone with the pain.

“Isaac. . .he says they’re not separating the two of us.” I yip at my brother.

“I don’t know what’s going on, Stiles, I’m scared.” He whimpers loudly.

“I am too, Isaac. But I promise: live together, suffer together, die together.” I say, reminding him of my promise.

“Are we going to die?” Isaac cried.

“The universe isn’t that kind.” I mutter to myself.

Isaac passes out in the tan teen’s arms. Earning a surprised shriek from him and a frantic shout to Melissa. He just called her mom. So he’s her real child. It all comes full circle doesn’t it.

That’s her child, her own flesh and blood. Isaac and I were not her children and nothing could make me understand that more. My answer to Isaac’s question made Sour puss tense up and look at me with something akin to sadness but not quiet. We’re rushed outside and I’m looking up at the night sky for the first time in my life. It’s so beautiful. I’m completely mesmerized by the vastness and the little specks of light from the stars above me. And the moon. . .my God it makes me want to sing.

“I can die now. I’ve seen the stars and been touched by moonlight. I can die now.” I whispered. But I can’t really. I have to wait, I have to wait for the very last moment.

“You’re not dying on my watch. You or your brother.” Sour puss says. He sounds so sure. I laughed weakly.

“You understand me? What are you? Fox? Wolf?” I ask tiredly.

“Wolf. You’re not going to die. I won’t let you.” I laughed at this even more.

What power does he have over me? He doesn’t own me, doesn’t know me. He has no stake on my soul. Only Isaac has that power.

“Go fuck yourself.” I muttered through the weak laughter. He grins at me and chuckles lightly.

“I knew there’s a reason why I like you.” He said.

Wow. . .okay. . .now I’m stunned all over again.

I mean I feel that awful tug towards the overgrown eyebrow but I am definitely not going to explore that feeling. No, I won’t risk myself. He jogs with me in his arms to a bunch of cars outside the compound. For the first time, I’m getting to look at the place I’ve been held my entire life and I’m surprised. Because it’s not at all what I thought it to be. No, it’s a relatively small office building. Unsuspecting and not at all how I pictured it. But we had been kept in the labs down below the building. But there’s something off about the building.

Then I realize, it’s been abandoned.

It looks like a ghost town. We had truly been left to die. I can feel something in my belly turn at the realization. Then sour puss slides me into the backseat of a sleek black car. Isaac is slid in next to me and I curled my fluffy tail around him, settling his weightless body against mine. His warmth is startling. It’s been so long since I’ve felt his fur, since I’ve gotten to touch him with anything other than my nose. Nose to nose through that damn vent. All these new sensations and smells and sounds. . .it’s all so overwhelming. Especially the sounds. My heightened hearing is really giving me a fucking headache. Melissa is crouched down low behind Isaac, smiling that sickly sweet smile. I can see straight through it. She reaches out to touch Isaac and I use whatever energy I can muster into growling and snarling at her. I want to bite her fucking hand.

How dare she reach to touch Isaac.

How fucking dare she. She pulls her hand back in surprise and confusion.

“Stiles? What-”

“You left us to die. Left us in that fucking place. Abandoned us. You may never touch either of us again. And if you so much as brush against Isaac again I will personally chew off every single finger and claw out your eyes so help me God. I will never forgive you for leaving us. And neither will my brother.” I snarled at her. Derek’s eyes are wide and he’s trying to wrap his head around what I just said, “Why don’t you translate that for the Angel of Death.” I muttered.

“Melissa. . .He’s. . .they don’t want you touching them. Ever.”

“What? But I-” Tears spring to her eyes and she looks like she might break again. But the exhaustion is taking over and I’m so weak. I can’t protect us any longer. The darkness is creeping into my vision again and I’m about to pass out.

“Don’t let her touch us, Mr. Eyebrows.” I ignore the snort of indignation coming from sour puss and look back at Melissa, “We’re not your children. We never were. We were your prisoners.” And with that last thought spoken, I’ve slipped back into darkness. And I can’t help but hope that this is the last time.


	2. The Rescue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short chapter this time, a little background, a little perspective

Derek P.O.V.

“Derek what the hell just-”

“Not now, Melissa, we need to get them to Deaton while they’re knocked out. They need help. You drive and I’ll explain on the way.” I answer coldly. The electric feeling in my veins and overpowering feeling of concern for the fox take over. She nods reluctantly and shouts orders to the others before hopping in the driver’s seat and speeding towards the vet.

“Are they okay?” She whispered brokenly. I can see just how much all of this is affecting her. The obvious love and devotion she holds towards the small fox and wolf is astonishing but there’s still something I don’t understand. Stiles seems to hate her. . .but why?

“They’re weak. Very weak. Extremely starved and dehydrated. I can smell the infection on both of them, the illness. They reek of death.” I answer truthfully. She lets out a broken sob and wipes away the escaping tears.

“Tell me what happened, please.” She begged.

“Melissa, Stiles said that if you touch him or Isaac again, he’ll hurt you. That they were never your children, they were your prisoners.” I tread lightly, “When we get to the vet and they get through whatever it is that’s needed for them to make it through the night, you will tell us exactly what happened in that place. I want the truth. Then we’ll go from there.” She nodded slowly, taking in all my words and looking positively wrecked.

She broke every single traffic law in speeding towards the vet. When we arrived, Deaton was ready for us and immediately set to work when I placed Stiles’s limp body on the slab beside Isaac. The young wolf looks dead already. If I couldn’t hear his heartbeat stuttering weakly, I would assume he’d died.

“Holy hell. Get Scott in here. Derek, I’m going to need your help too. Everyone else, you can all go home or wait in the lobby. I don’t really give a shit.” He ordered. Everyone obeyed his orders and left the room. Melissa had to be pulled out by Lydia and Scott rushed in with supplies. Deaton and Scott communicated effortlessly, moving at light speed. “Derek, we need you to get Stiles into the sink and rinse him off as best you can. Get him clean enough for an examination. Quickly.”

Scott ordered me while wasting no time doing the same for Isaac. Deaton helped him with the wolf. I nodded obediently and rolled my sleeves. The emaciated fox felt so small and light in my hands. And the spark shooting through me at the touch of my skin to his fur is electrifying.

It’s almost as if. . .no. . .it couldn’t be.

I can’t even think about that now. I need to get him healthy before I even think about that. So shaking the thoughts from my head, I carry him to the other sink across the room and lay him gently inside so I can rub the soap that Scott tosses to me into his orange and red coat. He lets out little whimpers in his sleep and while I’m rubbing into his fur as gently as I can, I suck out the pain. He’s carrying so much pain. It’s almost excruciating to feel. But I push through. When it comes time to remove the bloody and crusted bandages around his head, my fingers are as gentle as I can make them. They’re hard and disgusting. The dried blood and pus turned black long ago and now are festering. I loosen them with lukewarm water and gently cut them free. I’m not squeamish. I’m not, it takes a lot for me to feel like throwing up or worse and the sight of his mangled, infected, torn apart ears, makes me want to keel over and cry. The pain, the suffering that Stiles had to endure for this must have been so traumatizing. Must have been horrifying. I’m definitely going to have nightmares for the rest of my life because of this. But why did they do this to him? I want to know every single thing they did to him because I want to rip all their throats out for hurting him. He remained unconscious for the next part, which I’m extremely grateful for. I’m sure it’s excruciating what I’m about to do. I run the water over his ears and the back of his head, rinsing away the dirt, blood and crusted pus. It’s so disgusting and I can smell the infection so potent I want to scream. By the time I decide I’ve done all I can do for the moment, I towel off the newly cleaned fox and bring him back to the table. His coat is far more shiny and he smells so much better. I feel a swell of happiness for whatever comfort I have just provided him. Even Isaac looked loads better. He smelled better, and now we could clearly see the damage done to their bodies. Scott looks so horrified and Deaton looks equally as pissed as I am. He barks out orders, telling Scott to get the both of them on an IV drip and bring him an assortment of tools and supplies that I’m not sure what they even are. Deaton gets to work looking them over and making notes to himself on what he’ll be doing. “

I can’t fucking believe it. It’s so barbaric what’s been done to the two. It’s appalling.” He mutters, “I’ve never seen anything so horrid. It’s a good thing you got to them when you did. Otherwise, they most definitely would have died in the next day or two. It’s a miracle they held out for so long.”

I listened to him speak but didn’t focus too much. All I could focus on was the feeling of Stiles’s soft fur between my fingers, the crushing weight of hope in my chest that he’ll pull through. The happiness that I got to him in time. That he’s here. He’s still alive, still fighting. Deaton had to open Isaac’s crudely healed stitches and fix all the damage. He had to flush his wounds and sew him back up. But his smell is improving with each thing Deaton does for him. Isaac’s accelerated healing sluggishly kicking in. Stiles is a completely different story. He’s so weak and frail. The stitching at the base of his ears and skull were never allowed to properly close and heal. They has remained fresh, festering wounds and continued to bleed. Even now, once Deaton got the area cleaned and shaved, the damage is extensive. Stiles was under the knife for almost three hours then stitched up properly with clean gauze and wrappings. The lacerations on his back and hindquarters were also cleaned and treated. Deaton explained that these injuries had been administered most likely by a whip or flogging instrument. The thought alone turned my stomach. Both of them are being flushed with antibiotics and nutrients to try and get them back to stable. It takes hours and I’m exhausted but I will not be leaving either of them. When Deaton was done, he insisted that they be taken somewhere safe to be nursed around the clock. Isaac would heal faster than Stiles because for some reason, Stiles doesn’t heal like we do or like Isaac. His healing is almost human like. We still don’t know why. We won’t know till he wakes up.

“They’ll be staying at the Hale house with me. They’ll be safe there.” I promise. Deaton nods. The exhaustion is hitting him too. He packs up my car with supplies and instructs Scott to stay with Derek seeing as how he’s the only one who knows how to nurse them. Well, besides Melissa but Stiles already made it clear how he feels about her. It’s almost one in the morning when I finally pull up to my home and gently carry Stiles inside. Scott cradles Isaac in his arms and the rest of the pack carry in all the supplies that Deaton gave them.

“Let’s set them up in the spare room. They’ll be more comfortable in a bed, I’m sure.” I say. I led the way to the spare room on the west side of the house, that way Stiles can watch the sun rise and set. It’s the only room with windows on both sides of the room. I heard his little gasp when he saw the stars. I only want to make him happy. He deserves to be happy after a life of God only knows what.

“Okay. Scott, get everything set up please while I go speak to your mother.” I said to Scott. He wasted no time bouncing about the room, setting up all the medical supplies and I took my leave. The pack gathers in the living room, they’re all painfully quiet. They’re tired but still horrified by what they saw in that building. Their faces all look haunted. Melissa stands, pacing the floor and her face looks puffy from all the crying.

“Okay, Melissa, why don’t you start from the beginning and tell us all what the fuck is going on here?” I demand.

“Nineteen years ago, I got a job at as an attending nurse in a laboratory. It started out with me assisting the doctors there. Paperwork, light stuff. Then a year in, they brought me downstairs to the labs. And I have never been so horrified and disgusted as when they made me attending nurse to two pups. A little fox and an even smaller wolf. I wanted to quit but if I left, they would have had no one. I couldn’t leave them there and I couldn’t get them out. All I could do. . .was try my hardest to make it easier on them. All I could do was heal them, and love them.” She started tearing up again.

“How old were they?” Lydia asked.

“Stiles was only a year old. Born in captivity, mom died on the table and dad killed after trying to get him and Stiles out. Isaac, well he was sold at eight months old. They were just babies. It broke my heart. I taught them to speak, read, talk, walk. I did it all. And when the experiments started, I couldn’t stop it.” She whimpered.

“Melissa, what was that place?” I asked her.

“It was a research lab, owned and operated by The Collector. I never met him, none of us have. Only the subjects knew who he was. He kept his identity a secret from anyone who could leave. He acquired shifters and conducted experiments and studies on them. It was brutal and often, the subjects would die. All but Stiles and Isaac. They were different, stronger somehow. And were the only subjects to live past their third year.” She explained. We’re all horrified but still impossibly curious.

“You didn’t tell anyone what they were doing to them?” Allison accused.

“I couldn’t! They threatened Scott, they threatened me! No matter how much I wanted to help those boys, I couldn’t. The only thing I could do, was love them.” She said defensively, “Someone got wind of what The Collector was doing and the raid was close to fifty days ago. It was such a mess, it was terrifying. Subjects were being terminated and everyone was running to avoid getting caught. Lights were flashing, there was so much screaming. . .so much pain. And I did the only thing I could think of to save their lives. I tripled their food rations and put their enclosures on lockdown.”

“How is that saving them? You basically entombed them.” Lydia said angrily.

“Lockdown would make sure that no one could get through the walls or implement kill codes and euthanize them. I had to seal them in so I could come back once everything died down and I could get them out.” She said tearfully. Now I see why Stiles was so angry with her. Why he thinks she abandoned them.

“They almost starved to death.” I said, “Their injuries are extensive and for some reason, Stiles isn’t healing like he should be.”

“That’s because when he was ten, he tried to make an escape and they put a drug in his food that stunts his healing powers. Until it’s out of his system, he won’t be healing.” Melissa said. That’s awful. To punish him by keeping him unable to self heal?

“That’s terrible.” Allison said, speaking my thoughts.

“What are we going to do with them now?” Erica asked carefully.

“We’re going to welcome them into the pack and help them heal. Whatever they want to do, we’ll help them do it. Are they violent at all?” I asked Melissa.

“No! They’re good boys. Isaac couldn’t hurt a fly if he tried.” Then she sighed, “Stiles. . .he’s different. He’s sweet, and talkative, and hyperactive. Fiercely loyal and smart. But. . .he can get violent. Only when he feels threatened or when Isaac is being threatened. He’s extremely protective of the ones he loves. He would never hurt someone if it wasn’t warranted.” Melissa confessed.

There’s a loud crash coming from upstairs and I can hear Scott yelling. I don’t think before I’m running up the stairs with the pack fresh at my heels. When I enter the guest room, Scott’s arm is bleeding and Isaac is crouched over Stiles’s form, growling fiercely. Stiles is blinking into wakefulness and is whimpering. I can smell his pain. Scott is trying to reason with the gray wolf.

“Hey, I’m not gonna hurt you two. I just gotta give him something for the pain.” Scott said, he’s trying to manage a small smile.

“You’re not going to fucking touch him.” Isaac growled.

“I don’t want your drugs.” Stiles chirped. His tone is still groggy and extremely tired.

“But-” Scott’s still trying, admirable effort but there’s not going to be and budging. Isaac is almost fully healed and he’s a lot stronger than Scott.

“Come near him and I’ll rip your throat out.” Isaac growled.

“Alright everyone, why don’t we just. . .calm down. They don’t want painkillers, then we won’t give him any.” I say, motioning for Scott to stand down. I take in the sight of the large wolf standing so protectively over the small fox. Stiles is still painfully thin and broken looking but I can’t do anything about that at the moment.

“Who the hell are you and where the fuck are we?” Isaac questioned, not backing down from the pack of wolves in front of him.

“My name is Derek Hale and I’m the Alpha of this pack. We rescued you from the lab and took you to see a doctor where we patched you up and then brought you here. You’re safe.”

“Nowhere is safe.” Stiles says.

“I don’t blame you for being guarded. If I were in your position, I would be the same. Hell, I’m not sure I can trust either of you not to kill anyone. But I’m going to give you both the benefit of the doubt and give you two a chance. So all I ask, is that you give me the benefit of the doubt as well. We’re not like the humans that held you captive, we’re shifters. Just like you.” I say, trying to get through to them. Isaac settled slightly, no longer growling.

“Why should we trust you.” Stiles asked skeptically. I find that I like listening to the little chirping noises he’s making.

“Listen carefully to my heart. We’re only going to help you get back on your feet. We’re not going to hurt you in any way and when you both are fully healed, you may decide what you want to do. If you want to stay and be a part of this pack or if you want to go somewhere else. We’ll help you figure it out.” I say steadily. They’ve had so much taken away from them, right now all I want to do is give them a choice, “Why don’t we start with food? You both are probably starving. I’ll bring up some food for you, then we can talk.” The wolf eyed the fox and seemed to communicate without speaking to one another. Slowly, Stiles nodded and Isaac gave me an approving nod. I took my leave and pulled everyone from the room to give them some privacy.

“Okay. I want broth made for Stiles, without his healing he’s not going to be able to ingest heavy foods right now. I’ll get the steak we have in the fridge grilled up. Toast some bread for Stiles too. Only light foods. Tomorrow we’ll see how he feels and go from there.” I delegated to Scott. He nodded obediently and went to work, “Everyone else, get to bed. It’s going to be a long day tomorrow and you’re going to need your rest.” The pack nodded and went to their respective rooms without waiting for another word. They’re all exhausted and I can’t blame them. I am too but I can’t go to sleep right now. I know that the moment I fall asleep, my mind will be plagued by images of the lab and Stiles’s mangled ears. No, I don’t need to see that again.


	3. Scars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mentions of rape, not descriptive. Just be warned. This chapter is a little happy a little heavy.

Stiles P.O.V.

“They seem. . .safe. Safer than we’ve ever had. I mean, they did save us. They’re welcoming us and taking care of us, Stiles. Maybe they’re not that bad?” Isaac thinks out   
loud while staring out the window with me, we’re both mesmerized by the stars outside. 

“I don’t trust them.”

“You don’t trust anyone.” He points out with a huff.

“Neither should you.” I remind him. Isaac is always far too trusting. 

“We can’t live our lives in fear. I want to be happy. I want to be free.” He sighs.

“I do too, brother. More than you know. I just. . .I can’t bring myself to trust anyone but you right now.” I confess.

“I know. And I don’t think anyone will fault you for that. But couldn’t we try? Try to trust them? What if this is our dream come true and we can finally find peace? Have those families we once dreamed about?” His tone is so hopeful. I couldn’t bear to crush his hopes.

“Isaac, if this is meant to be then you’ll have it. I promise. If this is truly as good as it seems, then we’ll stay. If not, then I want to spend the rest of my life free somewhere else.” I say, “I am not going to be caged again.”

“We won’t. Wherever you go, Stiles, I go.” Isaac says, reminding me of our promise to one another.

“Together.” I confirmed, “My God, I am starving.” 

He laughs at me and nods. We’re both so hungry. Now that I’m awake now, I can take in every little detail of my body. I’m clean for once, and stitched up properly. The smell of infection has dissipated and only lingers slightly. It’s almost completely gone from Isaac. He’s healed almost completely and I couldn’t be happier. I’ve never seen him so healthy. Me, I’m still weak and boney. But. . .I’m so much better than I was. Maybe Sour puss-Derek-was right. Maybe they’re only here to help. Until we’re both completely healed and stable, we’re stuck here. But somehow it feels like this place might actually be a blessing. I can only hope. 

I can smell the others in the house. They’re all wolves, all but two. But one of the two smells off. Not quite human. I can pick out Derek’s scent easily. It’s strong and intoxicating. Then the scent of food hits my nose and I’m not sure what I’m smelling but Jesus Christ do I want it. Isaac smells the same thing and we both begin to salivate. We don’t wait too long before Derek is entering the room with plate after plate of food followed by Scott who carries water and bowls. I’m so hungry I let out a whine and greedily take the piece of food being offered to me. At this point, I’m not picky on what they’re offering me. Isaac and I have only ever eaten kibble and the occasional chocolate bar that Melissa has brought us. This food explodes into different flavors and is so delicious. I’m munching it hungrily and in a few bites I look up at Derek.

“What is this?” I ask curiously.

“It’s bread with a little butter on it. You’ve never had bread before?” He asked. His voice is verging on angry but I don’t really care at the moment.

“God, it’s delicious.” I mutter before practically inhaling the rest. Then he sets a bowl with hot liquid in it. It smells equally as delicious and it’s just the right temperature to lap. 

“We’ve only ever had kibble. Melissa used to sneak us chocolate bars occasionally.” Isaac muttered in between bites. His jaws tore at something marvelous, I’ve never seen before but it’s dripping and it looks spectacular. I watch what he’s doing briefly and whine a little. I want to try what he’s eating. Isaac picks up on it and lifts it closer to me so I can tear off a piece with my teeth. It’s fucking fantastic. I moan at the taste and the way it settles heavily in my stomach. Then I see Isaac looking at my liquid and I motion for him to take a little. 

“I like this as well.” I say, “I especially love Isaac’s meal.”

“That’s steak.” I tilt my head in question, “Cow meat.” Ah. Well I want more of that.

“You both need to stay hydrated.” Scott says carefully and puts a small bowl of water in front of each of us. We’ve never had so much given to us before, it’s almost awe inspiring.

We spend a few minutes scarfing down every lick of food and when we finish, I’m astounded at the full and content feeling in my belly. I’ve never had so much food so as to be full. Isaac hops off the bed and sits in front of me, guarding me again. He doesn’t know what to make of these people. Neither of us do.

“We get that you don’t trust us, we understand completely.” Scott says hopefully. His lopsided smile reminds me of Isaac. They’re equally puppy like. I don’t want to believe anything that’s happening here. I’m convinced that this is one major extraordinary dream. And I don’t want to wake up. What if I’m dead and this is heaven. That could be it, we could be in heaven. 

“We’re not dead, Stiles. This isn’t heaven.” Isaac rolls his blue eyes.

“I’m not so sure, Isaac.” I whisper to him.

“You both are very much alive.” Derek says calmly. He pulls up a chair and sits back, completely unguarded. Vulnerable. He should know better.

“What do you want from us?” Isaac asks.

“Nothing. Only for you two to get better. Like I said before, you’re welcome here as long as you want.” Derek says like it’s so simple. It can’t possibly be that easy.

“Stiles, can you tell me why your ears are hurt?” Scott asks curiously.

“The day before everything went to shit, they were running tests on my hearing. They wanted to see if they could enhance it further. So they put me under and implanted something in my brain. They called it a cochlear implant on steroids. Whatever that is. They butchered me like they usually do and Melissa patched me up. Now everything is so fucking loud.” I answered with derision. 

“That’s so fucked up.” Scott whispered in disgust.

“That’s not even the worst thing they’ve done to me. Not even close.” I muttered.

“You don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to but maybe talking about it can help.” Derek said carefully. Talking. That’s his solution. I barked out a laugh and sneered. Then I heard it. Melissa’s heartbeat outside the door.

“Did she tell you that she spent the last nineteen years fixing me after all their fucked up experiments?”

“Yes.” Derek replied.

“Good. Then you know that she single handedly kept me alive for years. Brought me back from the brink of death when all I wanted was to die.” 

“She saved your life. You should be grateful.” Scott sneered. 

“Oh, how nice. A pup protecting his mother. You know, there was a time when I also considered her ‘mother’. Up until she buried us alive.” I sneered. Isaac whined, trying to get me to pull back, “You know I’m right.”

“She did what she could.” Scott still tried to defend.

“She obeyed her conscience. It wasn’t for our benefit, it was for hers. Betrayer. That’s what she is. Left us there to die in hopes that she might return in time. No. It would have been a kindness to let us die.”

“She saved you! Taught you to read, to speak, hell she practically raised you!” He’s shouting at me now. 

“She put us in their hands. Left us at their mercy.” Isaac said, finally jumping into the conversation.

“Every single fucking day. She left us to go home to you, her son. Her real son. She never cared for us like she did for you. If she had loved us like sons, she would have gotten us out when we were pups. But no, she let us rot in that place, day after day. You know what they did after she went home for the night?” I said getting angrier and angrier. The thumping of my heart in my chest growing erratic quickly and before I know it, I can’t breathe. I’m wheezing for air, whining and trying to get my brain working again. 

It’s wrong, it’s all so wrong. We’re in danger here. We’re not safe. We’re not-

“Stiles. . .Stiles breathe. Count with me one. . .two. . .” I can hear Isaac instructing me how to breathe with him. And I try. He guides me through the breathing and after a few minutes, I can finally breathe again. My head is pounding so uncomfortably and I hurt all over. Isaac curls around me and scents me. Trying to comfort-trying to help. I whimper in pain and I want to bury my nose in the covers because all my senses are so surgically enhanced, not just my ears but my nose too. The amount of scents floating in the air are overwhelming. Scott's anger had set me off and now his concern and guilt is suffocating me.

“You’re okay, Stiles. We’re both safe. Try to block the scents. Block the noise.” Isaac tells me. 

“I can’t.” I whine. Then there’s a warm, gentle hand on my neck, rubbing through my fur and all my pain is disappearing again. Derek’s magic fingers working their magic. I   
let out a sigh and lean into his touch. 

“You’re safe here. Both of you are.” Derek says. And I want to believe him. I really do because he smells safe. He smells like something I’ve never had before. 

“There’s so much you don’t know. I want to believe you. . .but. . .I just can’t.” I confess brokenly.

“Let me prove it to you.” He implored, “Heal, and get healthy again. Then we’ll go from there. We’ll let you sleep. Try to relax enough to get some rest. We’ll bring more food in the morning.” I can’t sense anything malicious in his voice or in his heart so I simply nod and settle into Isaac’s side. I watch Derek pull a stuttering Scott out of the room and closing the door behind him.

“They’ve given us food, shelter, kindness. More than we’ve ever been given before. Perhaps we should give them a chance.” Isaac said pensively.

“I’m scared, Isaac. I can’t lose everything again.” I say tiredly.

“You don’t know what will happen. But I promise we’ll do this together. I just ask that you atleast see what’s being offered here. Give it a chance, for me.” Isaac pleads, “Please try this with me.”

His big blue eyes are pleading with me, imploring me to give it a try. I can’t say no to him. For Isaac, I’d do anything, I have done anything to make him happy.

“Okay. I’ll give it a shot.” I said, relenting. Isaac grinned a happy grin and barked happily. 

I couldn’t help but smile with him. He’s been the only good part of my life and we’ve been together since the very beginning. For him I will do anything to make him happy. He curled around me and licked my muzzle playfully. He rumbled happily. As long as he’s happy and safe. . . well, I couldn’t ask for more.

. . .

Time passed quickly for me. Isaac and I spent the next week in our room, still too afraid to go out and explore the rest of the house. We watched the sunrise and bathed in the sun every day. It was so mind numbingly pleasant that I think I’ve become addicted to it. It took a week of resting in the sun and constant eating for the drugs in my system to run its course and allow me to heal instantly for the first time in years. I woke up and the pain in my body has completely gone. I’m covered in scars, I’m sure, but I’m fully healed. I’m healthier than I’ve ever been. 

“Now that you’re healed, let’s go explore the house. I desperately want to feel the grass under my feet.” Isaac begs.

“I’m not sure-”

“Please!” Damn those puppy dog eyes.

“Fine. Stop looking at me like that.” I said angrily. He yipped excitedly and bounced about the room, waiting for me by the door. When I opened the door, we looked into the empty hallway. All clear. I could hear heartbeats but they’re several miles away from here. 

“I can’t hear anyone.” Isaac pointed out.

“They’re about thirty miles out.” I said. His eyes widened, “Yeah. I can hear pretty far now.” 

“That’s pretty cool. You know. . .despite the. . .surgery.” Isaac said. I roll my eyes and trott carefully out of the room. Following the strong scent of Derek, I find myself downstairs. It’s nice in this house. There are so many windows and it’s so bright. I pull open the last door, keeping us inside and smell the fresh air. We’re surrounded by trees and dirt and wilderness. I might just die from happiness. 

Isaac runs out behind me and bounces excitedly on the grass. He’s just as excited as I am. We’re barking and chirping in laughter and I’ve never felt so free in my life. It’s indescribable. We’re rolling in the grass and chasing each other around the yard. Isaac’s laughter is music to my ears. We’re both alive. So alive and it’s amazing. If life could feel like this forever, I don’t think I could give this us.I want to live outside. I want to live in the grass and sleep in the trees. I want to see it all, get completely acquainted with the world around me. It’s so beautiful and I want to be set free. I want more of this feeling. So much more.

“I want to feel the grass on my human skin.” Isaac says, pulling me from my thoughts.

“Me too.” I respond. I want to feel it under thin skin, against my scarred flesh. I want to roll in it. So we do. It’s been so long since either of us have been in our human skin. We stopped shifting when we were eleven years old because of the night guards and nurses on duty. We were too young, too weak to fight them off. And we learned that the only way to avoid the rapes were to be in our animal skins. No one wanted to abuse an animal. Well, not sexually at least. The only one we trusted to be in our human skin with was Melissa. She never did anything to hurt us. I’m not even sure what I look like anymore. 

The shift felt awkward at first. The stretch and reformation of our bodies is foreign to us. When I look at Isaac, I’m shocked. I remember his form vaguely and seeing him now is astonishing. His dark blonde, curly hair and blue eyes go so well together. High cheekbones and angular jaw. His build is impressive, but that’s also due to the experiments. He’s very muscular. Especially his legs, courtesy of his last major surgery. He’s pale and his skin is unmarred. He smiles brilliantly at me and lays back down on the grass. I follow suit, not even thinking about my own appearance. The feeling of the damp grass is spectacular. I could lay here for hours. 

“This is wonderful.” Isaac’s voice carries over. It’s deep and smooth. I wonder what I sound like.

“It is.” Oh. Not too bad. I could enjoy hearing it some more.

“I want to sleep out here.” He laughs. I nod in agreement.

“We should get you both some clothes first.” Derek’s voice muttered. Without thinking, I’ve shifted back into my fox form and I’m back to standing defensively beside Isaac who’s also shifted back. 

“We were just-” Isaac squeaked.

“Don’t worry about it. Let’s just not freak everyone out.” He smiled at us, motioning for the two of us to follow him. 

He led us to the living room and told us to stay there for a moment. When he returned, he carried a few bags in his hands. New clothes? Wow. We’ve never owned clothes before. Never worn clothes before for that matter. He pulls out a pair of scrub pants for both of us and a soft t-shirt. I looked from the clothes to him for a moment, unsure if I really want to shift in front of him.

“You don’t need to be afraid. I’m not going to hurt you.” He sighed, “I know it can be overwhelming, being in your human skin. You’re more vulnerable and sensitive. But we will be as accommodating as possible.”

He speaks the truth. And Isaac whined next to me.

“You promised you would try, brother.” There he goes with the puppy dog eyes again.

“Alright, alright.” I growl. He nudges me with a wolfish grin on his face and I watch him shift back. It takes him all but ten seconds to dress and wait for me. He smiles at Derek and chirps at me.

With a heavy sigh, I shift back to my human skin and ignore the strangled growl coming from Derek. I quickly pulled on the pants and shirt. I don’t feel shame for my body. I’m almost as tall as the Alpha and I’m well built. Muscular and strong from years of physical modifications and adaptations. Derek nods at me and asks us to follow him back outside to sit with him. Isaac continues to walk around the yard and smell everything. It’s amusing to watch. I take a seat next to Derek on the bench outside the door and just admire the feeling of the sun on my skin. Then I feel it. The tug and itch on my scars. They’re everywhere on my body, the majority on my torso and I can’t stand it. This shirt is the most irritating piece of clothing in existence. So I quickly pull off the blue shirt and set it next to me. Derek’s watching me closely, observing my movements. 

“My scars are irritated.” Is my only excuse. He’s silent for awhile, sitting with me in comfortable silence. Then he can’t contain his curiosity any longer.

“Will you tell me about them?” He asks softly. And I feel like telling him to go screw himself. But I can’t. Because just like Isaac, I can’t seem to say no to this man. There’s something about him that sparks something inside me and I feel like I can tell him anything. I’ve never been more terrified. But then I remember. Isaac has begged me to give this place a chance, begged me to give happiness a chance. Maybe I could be happy here. Maybe I could be happy with him.

“I have too many.” I say.

“We’ve got time.” He smiles at me. 

“I guess we do.” I eye him carefully. So I start with my arm, pointing to a large and dark scar that runs up my left forearm, “This was from when I was ten. My very first scar. It was in my first and last escape attempt that I was caught by a guard and he punished me by slicing my arm open with a jagged piece of glass from the window I had smashed.”

Isaac heard me begin my story and took a seat at my feet, watching me in admiration. He doesn’t have any scars but if he had been drugged like I was, he’d have plenty. I continued up towards my biceps were there was a long pink scar around the circumference of my arm.

“I bit a nurse and he wrapped a tourniquet so tightly it was imbedded in my skin for a few hours before someone cut it out of me.” I pointed to my pectoral, “They tried to enhance my lungs somehow. I was eleven. My lung collapsed and I was on a respirator for months.”

“They didn’t even try not to give you a scar.” Isaac muttered angrily. I shrugged and pointed to a long scar on my side below my rib cage leading to my hip.

“They were testing developmental stents. One actually broke and did some internal damage.” I said indifferently, “This one was from a brutal beating when I was thirteen. I wouldn’t let him touch Isaac and I kept him off long enough for Melissa to show up and get us out of the bathing room. He had stabbed me and when I tried to jerk away, it sliced through my shoulder.” I said, lightly running my hand over the longest scar on my back. It runs from the inner curve of my shoulder blade to the edge of my collar   
bone. 

“I had just come out of surgery on my heart.” Isaac says sadly, “You took many of my beatings even though you knew you couldn’t heal like I could.” He said almost scoldingly.

“I’d be damned if someone hurt you while you couldn’t fight back.” I smiled at him. He rolled his eyes and pointed to a scar on my neck.

“You told a doctor to go fuck themselves and insulted his mother horribly. He took a scalpel and sliced your neck.” Isaac said with a laugh, “You never could keep your mouth shut.” 

“Nope. That would be too easy.” I smiled, “The other scars, I can’t even remember anymore. They’re from a bunch of different operations or beatings. A few from the rapes.”

“They raped you?” Derek growled.

“The night time staff were brutal. Isaac and I learned to stay in our animal forms in order to avoid the attacks.” I answered calmly, “There were far worse things happening to us than those rapes.” I pointed to all the jagged scars on my backs, the claw marks, “These are claw marks from frequent stress tests throughout the years. They would put me in a ring with a rabid dog or another subject that had gone mad. I was forced to fight to the death.” 

“Those were always the worst. Not knowing if either of us would come back.” Isaac said sadly, “killing those animals was brutal. It always did a number on us.” 

“I’m so sorry.” Derek said. 

“It doesn’t matter. Not anymore.” I sighed. He looked at me skeptically but didn’t push. I’m grateful for that.

"It does though, these people-"

"It's just skin. Hardly the worst part of me they've injured." I said, "They can't hurt us anymore."


	4. Fight me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry to take so long to write the next chapter! I was feeling one of my other stories and only wanted to write for that instead of attending to this one. . .check it out?

“We haven’t shifted for this long in years. Hell, this is the first time we’ve ever been outside.” Isaac smiled. 

“I think I could live out here.” I laughed with him. 

“If you like this, just wait till you see the lake. Or the ocean. Or snow.” Derek smiled. 

“Can we? Now?” I asked excitedly. Isaac nods vigorously behind me. 

“Tomorrow we can take you two to the lake.” Derek’s smile is so wonderful. 

Derek takes us on a walk through the forest. The path is well laid out and frequently used. I try to block out all the scents but it’s impossible. My head constantly aches with the overstimulation of my senses but I’ll deal with it. I can’t get rid of the enhancements. We were out for at least another hour walking around when I heard it. Someone entering the house. Voice unfamiliar.

“Derek, someone has just entered the house. I don’t recognize their voice.” I said, I felt my form shifting. My golden eyes glowing. 

“How can you hear that? We’re well out of range.” He asked astounded.

“Enhanced hearing, remember?” I sigh, “Male, older. He’s rummaging through the kitchen. We should go, now.” I said. I can feel my hackles rising.

Derek nodded and started off in a run towards his home. Isaac and I are much faster than him and got there before he did. We got inside and are greeted by a short, perturbed looking man. Isaac and I let out a growl and assumed a defensive stance. The intruder only laughed and relaxed against the wall.

“Well aren’t you a ferocious little monster.” He smirked. I want to rip his throat out. 

“Who are you?” Isaac growls.

“A better question would be who you two are? I’ve never seen you around before. I think I would remember two very scary looking pups.” He sneered.

“You reek of deceit and falseness.” I snarled at him. There’s a moment of silence, the intruder doesn’t seem to know what to do with that. His eyes narrowed and his pearly white gleamed menacingly. 

“My boy, everyone reeks of deceit. With as many scars as you have, I’m sure you must already know this.” He said. His tone is so calm it’s unnerving. He’s not wrong, “Ah that’s it. See, you and I are two kindred spirits. Wronged by humans and have paid for it in blood, family and with our bodies. You wouldn’t know it by looking at me but I once had burned the majority of my body in a vicious fire. So you see, we are not so different, pup.” 

“I am not your pup.” I snarled. He smirked at me and raised his hands in surrender.

“I like your spirit, boy.” He laughed, “Reminds me of myself when I was your age.”

“What are you doing here, Peter?” Derek asked annoyingly as he ran into the room. 

“I’m here to visit my dear nephew, what else? It couldn’t possibly be because of the incredibly rare. . .werefox you have in your possession.” Peter smirked.

“I am in no one’s possession.” I sneered.

“Forgive me, I meant care.” His head tilted in amusement. I’m amusing him. Seriously? I am anything but amusing. I want to wipe the stupid smirk off his face.

“Peter. Stop it.” Derek growled, “He could definitely take you.” 

“I don’t doubt it.” Peter smirked. Fucking prick, “Anyways. I’m here because I had heard that you took in two strays and I wanted to meet them.”

“They're not strays.” Derek growled out. 

“Anyways. I also came here for business. I have something important to discuss in regards to their. . .situation.” Peter rolled his eyes.

“Whatever it is, you can speak about it with them here. We wouldn't be able to hide anything from either of them if we tried.” Derek sighed. I’m starting to like Derek even more.

“I’ve received word that The Collector has resumed his hunt for your fox, here.” Peter said grimly. It feels like ice is shot up my veins when I hear that name. There’s   
pounding in my ears and sudden throbbing in my fingers. No. I will not be reduced to my panic. I will not feel this way again.

“I’d rather die.” I growled. I want to flinch at the threatening tone in my voice. . .I see Isaac do it for me and in an instant I feel shame for frightening him.

“Over my dead body.” Derek mirrors my tone. Peter raises his hands in submission, only slightly terrified by our display.

“I’m only relaying what I’ve heard through the grapevine. Hunters are searching as we speak, however, and there’s a pretty hefty bounty on you, little fox.” He says forebodingly. 

“We should speak to Chris. He helps control the area, we’ll double the patrols.” Derek says, thinking aloud,” There’s no way in hell you’re going to get captured, Stiles, I promise.”

I want to believe him. I desperately want to believe him because for a brief moment, it seemed as though we might be happy and safe here. For a moment it seemed like   
we. . .I. . .could be free. But that’s what I get for hoping. That’s what I get for daring to hope for a future of my own. I should run. I should leave right now before everyone is captured and forced to live out the rest of their lives as The Collector’s personal zoo. I should go before they find Isaac. I should go. . .

“Stiles, you’re not leaving.” Isaac said with a whimper.

“I can’t stay. You’re all in danger here. I’ll just lead them to you. I can’t let you all be taken. I can’t. . .” I said brokenly.

“You’re not going anywhere.” Derek growls, “We can protect you, Stiles. You can be safe here.” 

“I want to believe you Derek. . .I just. . .I don’t.” I said hopelessly. 

Derek stared at me intently. His body is rigid and his eyebrows are drawn together in concern. Isaac approached me slowly and took my hand in his. His eyes beg me for comfort. And I can’t deny him. I pull him into my arms and squeeze him tightly. 

“Thank you. . .for letting us know, Peter. We’ll deal with this.” Derek says, dismissing his uncle.

“Let me know if you need anything.” He says, giving me another once over before backing out of the house. It’s silent for a few minutes, no one says anything. I can practically see Derek’s thoughts. 

“I’m going to call the pack, let them know what’s going on.” Derek says, finally breaking the silence. Isaac nods gratefully. His heart is thrumming and fear is rolling off of him in waves. Me? There’s nothing. I can’t bring myself to feel anything but complete and utter hopelessness. 

“It won’t help.” I say coldly.

“We can keep you safe, Stiles. You and Isaac.” Derek said sternly.

“Forgive me if I don’t believe you.” I sneered.

“Stiles. You’ve been living in a prison for your entire life. You’re finally free, finally somewhere you can be loved. . .where you can be anything or do anything you want to do. Don’t give that up for captivity. Don’t give that up to be right back where you started.” Derek said pleadingly. 

I nod. I know he’s right. I know that I shouldn’t be so quick to give everything up again but I just can’t put Isaac at risk. I can’t put Derek at risk.

“We’ll fight for you, Stiles. We’ll fight for your freedom. You don’t have to worry about me or anyone. We want you here. . .we want you in this pack. And in this pack, we protect each other.” Derek says earnestly. 

“I hope you know what you’re doing.” I said. 

Derek gave us a weak smile and excused himself to go and call his pack for an emergency meeting. I could hear all of his quick conversations. Isaac refused to let go of me and nuzzled tightly against me. I card my fingers through his hair, thoughtless. I’m not thinking about anything right now but the warmth of Isaac’s body against mine. Then I register that Derek is in the kitchen again, shuffling around and moving quickly to get bowls and ingredients out of different places.

“What are you doing?” I asked him. 

“I’m starting on dinner and dessert. The pack is pretty large and eats a shit ton load of food.” Derek says, “Sit and watch.”

I nod hesitantly and bring Isaac to sit at the bar in front of where Derek is preparing the food. I watch in interest as he tells me everything he’s doing and what he’s cooking with. He puts a large pot to boil and a massive saucepan with ground beef and sausage browning on the stove. Then slices open a few loaves of bread, stuck butter and a garlic concoction inside then puts it in the oven. It all smells so wonderful and I’ve come to really like the sound of Derek’s voice. He prepares the sauce, telling me all about the different spices and ingredients that he puts inside. Then when he starts making the cookies, I’m right next to him, taking it all in. He’s making so much dough and there’s so many chocolate chips around. He puts a handful of chips in my hand smiles and laughs as I shove the chocolate in my mouth. 

“I haven’t had chocolate in so long.” I say with my mouth full of delicious chocolate. Isaac approached hesitantly and whines a little.

“Can I have some too?” He asks timidly.

“Of course.” Derek says, handing him another handful. He eagerly eats it all and smiles a chocolatey smile at both of us. I laugh at his adorableness and ruffle his hair. 

“So this makes cookies?” I ask Derek.

“Yeah.”

“So. . .do we just eat it with a spoon?” 

“No, you bake this and it turns into cookies. You can eat a little bit of the dough though. Just not a lot. It’s pretty addicting.” Derek laughs and takes two spoons out and scoops a little dough to give to each of us. The second the dough hits my tongue I’m in love. I squeak a little and bounce on my feet.

“This is amazing! I love this! Oh my God!” I gush and try to grab more on my spoon but Derek slaps away my hands with a laugh.

“You’ll love it even more when it’s baked.” He says. 

“But. . .but I want to eat it now. . .” I whine pitifully and look at him with my best puppy dog eyes and stick out my lip in a pout.

“One more spoonful then that’s it.” Derek says with a smile and allows me to stick my spoon in the mix. He said spoonful but I grabbed a large chunk and stick the whole thing in my mouth. I let out a groan of pleasure and savor the sweetness. 

“We’ve never had anything like this before. I love it.” I said. 

“Good, I’m glad you like it.” Derek laughs. 

“I think I could live off this stuff for the rest of my life.” Isaac groans.

“Me too, brother.” I grin at him. 

Once dinner is done and set out for when the pack arrives and the cookies are in the oven, Derek convinces Isaac and I to sit and watch a movie. He puts in a movie called Star Wars: A new Hope but it’s episode number five, which I don’t know why we’re watching the fifth movie first. It seems odd to me but Derek says that it’s supposed to be watched first because it was the first movie to be made. We’re not even halfway through when I hear the first members of the pack start to arrive. Derek convinces me to put the movie on pause so that we can all get acquainted properly since this is the first time we’ll be meeting everyone. I’m nervous and Isaac is even more so. We stay close to Derek, all of our senses on high alert. I’m fighting back the shift as it is. I hear happy chattering outside as everyone greets one another. Isaac clings to me, his heart beating rapidly. He nuzzles me and I can hear the strangled whines in his throat. 

“It’s going to be okay.” I whispered to him, “I’m here. I’ll keep you safe, I promise.”

“Stiles. . .” He whined, “I’m afraid.”

“I know, Izzy. It’s okay, I promise. . .nothing’s going to happen to you while I’m here.” I whisper, carding my fingers through his curls, “I’ll protect you, brother.” 

“No one’s going to hurt either of you, Stiles. You’re both safe here.” Derek says sternly. I nod hesitantly and brace myself for anything. 

I feel my hackles rising as the door is being opened and people flood into the house. They’re smiling and laughing then freeze completely when their eyes land on the two of us. The silence could be cut with a knife. I force back the growl and rub Isaac’s back. I feel extremely vulnerable in my human form. I wish I could shift. I want to shift. I can kill better in my other form. 

“Guys, this is Isaac and Stiles.” Derek says calmly, “The wolf and the fox we rescued two weeks ago.” 

“They’re. . .human. . .”A girl with red hair says, shocked to see us in our human form.

“Yes, they’re shifted so that we all can meet them and talk to them and get to know them.” Derek sighed, “There’s also another issue that we’ll be addressing after dinner. So. . .” 

“Can we. . .” A girl with brown hair takes a step towards us and I stop her with a growl and flash my golden eyes at her. The pack makes a move to step closer to her   
to protect her. Admirable quality in all of them. . .if only it weren’t so foolish. I could tear them all apart.

“They’re a little skittish so we’ll just take it all slow.” He says.

“I’m Allison.” Brown haired girl says, offering a warm smile. She smells non-threatening. But I can’t be sure. Looks and scents can be deceiving. Isaac looks at her intently.

“I’m Lydia.” Red haired girl says. She’s pretty. Fucking beautiful if I’m being honest. She too offers a smile. But she doesn't smell normal. I'll have to ask later.

“I’m Aiden, and this is my brother Ethan.” A tall, square looking man said. He’s large and beefy and his twin looks just like him.

“I’m Kira, Scott’s girlfriend.” A little Asian girl who’s wrapped around Scott said. I want to growl at Scott. I’m not too fond of him or his mother and he knows that. Kira looks nice enough. Then I see it, the fiery fox hovering above her and I smell her scent. Like electricity and violets. Interesting mix for a kitsune.

“I’m Erica, this is my boyfriend, Boyd.” A tall blonde in a low cut t-shirt says, wrapping an arm around her boyfriend.

“Jackson.” An angry looking guy says.

“I’m Danny.” A tanned man with the cutest dimples I’ve ever seen smiles warmly at the two of us.

“So now that you’ve met the entire pack, let’s just eat and we can get better acquainted with the pack while we chow down. Food’s ready.” Derek says, quickly   
ushering everyone into the kitchen to get their dinners. It’s slow going and Isaac is slowly warming up to everyone. I’m not warming at all. I don’t trust anyone and I don’t want to. It’s quiet and painfully awkward while everyone eats and it’s probably not helping that I’m glowing at everyone, filing away their scents and heartbeats. I feel Isaac nudging me with his elbow.

“Brother. . .give them a chance. I want cookies later so we need to be nice.” Isaac whispers to me. 

“You’ll get cookies either way, it’d just be nice if you were. . .nice.” Derek points out.

“Please, Stiles. You promised.” Isaac whined, giving me those puppy dog eyes.

“God damnit. You and those fucking puppy dog eyes. You know I can’t say no to that.” I growled at him. He gave me a sheepish grin and slurped up a noodle.

“Lydia. What are you?” I asked her. Since the first time I smelled her I knew she was not all human and now I really want to know.

“Excuse me?” She squeaked.

“I mean, you’re not human. But not a wolf. Not a fox. . .something else.” I said.

“I’m a banshee.” She said. She’s watching me carefully now.

“I should have realized. I’ve smelled that scent before.” I said, “I’ve met a banshee before.”

“Really?” She asked interested now in what I have to say.

“Yes. When Izzy and I were what. . .fifteen? They brought her in and I saw her in passing then again when they stress tested us together.” I said thoughtfully.

“What happened to her? I’d love to meet her.” 

“They tried to enhance her abilities but she died in the operation. Her name was Meredith, thought, she was really nice and her abilities were amazing.” I said.

“Oh. . .that’s. . .I’m sorry?” She asked.

“It’s okay. I knew her briefly.”

“I remember when you came back from a test with her.” Izzy laughed, “She had knocked you on your ass with one scream and when you got up you said ‘some pipes you got there’. I’d never seen a girl fall over laughing so fast.” That loosened up the mood in the room greatly and the pack laughed lightly with him. 

“Oh please, like you could have done better against her. She tossed your ass into the next room, at least I managed to stay in the testing circle, unlike you, I was in the fight for more than an hour.” I snarked. The group laughed and watched the two of us banter.

“She knocked me into the other room!” Isaac whines indignantly. 

“You’re only proving my point, you overgrown fluff ball.” I joked lightly.

“So you two are good fighters?” Erica asked. She’s interested in our skills.

“I’m okay. Stiles, though. . .he’s the best!” Isaac laughed.

“Maybe we should spar when you feel up to it.” She grins with a evil look. I don’t like the way she’s challenging me.

“I’m not sure that’s such a great idea. I wouldn’t want to injure you.” I challenge her right back. The pack laughs lightly at her angry squeak. 

“Erica. . .I don’t think you’re evenly matched against Stiles.” Derek says with a grin. 

“Oh please. Pipsqueak wouldn’t be able to take me down.” She says flipping her blonde hair back with a smirk.

“Would you like to make a bet?” Derek asked her with a grin.

“Sure, $200 to the winner.”

“I’ll take that bet.” Derek smirks, “Only if you’re okay with it, Stiles.”

“It’s been a while. . .but I’m itching for another fight.”

“Stiles. . .” Isaac says calling my attention. He’s worried, that much I can tell but is he worried for me or for her?

“It won’t be like all those other times. I’m not going for the kill.” I assure him. He still looks afraid.

“Let’s get this over with then, before dessert is done. I’m gonna want some cookies after I take your money, Derek.” 

The pack laughed and eagerly stepped outside into the yard and sat in the porch chairs. They’re just watching. . .just watching. Not taking notes, not turning up the stress or testing my abilities against some poor creature. It’s just for fun. Just fun. Just. 

“Derek. . .Stiles won’t be punished. . .right? When he beats her?” Isaac asked timidly.

“No, of course not. Don’t kill her, though, please? Just get her to tap out. We don’t need to fix any major injuries tonight.” Derek says, patting my shoulder. I see Erica standing a few feet away from me smirking that stupid smirk. I want to claw her eyes out.

“No promises.” I growl. He laughs lightly and joins the rest of his pack. I pull the irritating cloth that covers my torso off of my body. I’ve only ever fought in my animal form so this is pretty new but I trust my instincts. The minute the shirt is off my body, there are gasps from the pack. I can smell the salty tinge of tears and the acrid scent of sadness. Of pity. I flash my eyes at them and assume a defensive stance against Erica.

“Watch this. . .” Isaac smirks at the pack. His confidence in my skills hasn’t wavered. I grin maliciously at Erica and remain calm as she charges straight for me. Her form is sloppy, purely driven from anger and her use of her power is obnoxious. I move quickly, dodging all of her blows. By now, she’s getting frustrating and predictable. It takes me less than ten seconds to swing a leg under her and knock her feet out from under her. It’s almost comical how she lands on her ass with a grunt. She’s throwing random, angry blows my way trying to hit me. But she’s failing miserably and I’m growing tired of this fight. After I easily dodge her punch, I throw my flat hand out with half the force I know it would take to kill and hit her throat. She lets out an attractive squeal and falls to her knees coughing and gasping for air. She doesn’t get up.

“I win.” I smirk down at her. There’s cheering from the pack and Isaac is grinning widely at me. The happiness only lasts a minute, however, because I feel a shift in the air so small but alarming. Before anyone knows what’s happening, Erica raises to her feet with her claws out to strike me while my back is turned. Anger flares inside me and I don’t hesitate to grab her wrist and toss her over my shoulder and slam her to the ground with ease. I clutch her wrist in my hands and with such ease. . .I snap it like a twig. She cries out and whimpers under me. 

“Son of a-”

“In all my years I have never been so cowardly as to strike while my opponent’s back is turned.” I sneer at her, “This was the easiest fight I’ve ever had to win. I’ve killed stronger werewolves than the likes of you.”

“Stiles.” Isaac gets my attention, “You’re scaring them.” He says tiredly.

“She should learn who her superior is when she sees one.” I smirked down at her.

“Brother, let’s go get some cookies. Enough play time.” He huffs. I forgot there are cookies. I let go of her wrist and look back at Erica’s frightened face one last time.

“I believe you owe Derek $200. I would hate to have to collect.” I smile menacingly. She nods quickly and pulls her injured wrist to her body tightly. 

“Stiles. . .” Isaac whines. 

“Alright, alright. You’re a menace, you know that?” I hook an arm around his shoulder and nuzzle into his neck, “Derek, may we get those cookies now?” I ask hopefully.

“Of course.” He smiles warmly. As if I hadn’t just wounded his beta. I was half expecting punishment to come but it hasn’t yet. Instead, we’re able to have some of those wondrous smelling cookies. 

“Alright everyone, come inside and we’ll talk about why I called his meeting. Oh stop your whining, Erica. You asked for it. And I want that $200.” Derek says sternly. The pack followed behind us cautiously. 

Boyd doesn’t defend Erica’s actions. Only pulls her aside to check that she’s okay and to tell her to not be such a raging bitch. She’s already got her tail between her legs and doesn’t make eye contact with me. She knows she’s been beaten and humiliated. Isaac and I got the the kitchen and shoved a few cookies in our mouths. The delicious sweetness of the cookies makes me feel like contentment. I love cookies. I love chocolate chip cookies.

“You have to makes these every day for me. Please.” I beg Derek. He only laughs shakes his head.

“These are the best things I’ve ever tasted!” Isaac gushed, “So much better than eating the dough!” 

Once the pack saw Isaac and I chowing down on cookies and begging their Alpha to make more, the tension seemed to dissipate and they all approaches a little easier. They’re not as afraid as they had been. When Derek called everyone to the living room and got us all seated, he started to talk about what Peter had told us earlier today. They’re all listening carefully and taking in all the information that the Alpha is sharing.

“So what are we going to do?” Danny asks.

“I should leave. That’s what I should do. You all don’t have to do anything more than you’ve already done for me.” I say. 

“You’re not leaving, Stiles.” Derek says sternly.

“You leave, I leave.” Isaac says.

“Brother, I won’t have you captured again. You have an actual chance at a life with this pack. The Collector only wants me.” I sighed.

“What’s so special about a fox?” Jackson asks.

“Foxes are all different. You should know, there’s another one sitting in this room right now.” I say, looking at Kira.

“I’m a kitsune. It’s not the same thing as a werefox.”

“No, we’re distantly related. We’re both fox spirits only with different abilities. While you can’t shift, you can access your electrical manipulation ability easily. Other kitsunes have different manipulation abilities. Fire, earth, spirit, etcetera. There are many different versions of the fox spirit, some good, some very very bad. I’m a shifter. I can change form. That is one of my abilities.” I say.

“You have other abilities?” Allison asked.

“I don’t know. At the facility, they had me drugged my entire life. My abilities could have been tampered with or they could have never developed. I suppose if I really tried to find them, I could. My mother once told me that she had been able to control the elements before she had been captured. She said that her mother had magic.” I said, fondly remembering my mother. 

“Do you think you might be able to have the same abilities?” Derek asked.

“For our sake, I hope not.” I sigh.

“Why wouldn’t you want more abilities?” Isaac asked me.

“Because. The more power I exude, the more danger I attract. I’d be like a beacon to other supernatural creatures.” I sighed, “That’s how we were caught. My father, mother and I. She was very powerful.” Isaac curled against me to try and bring me some amount of comfort. He knows just how upset I get when I think about my parents. 

“Derek. . .this sounds like an awful lot of trouble to go through for two strays. We’re finally safe, we haven’t had a threat in weeks. Why jeopardize that?” Jackson   
asks.

“What’s to stop The Collector from taking all of us, regardless of Stiles and Isaac being involved? This man has kidnapped and murdered God knows how many shifters for his own entertainment or experimentation. What’s to stop him if he found out about our pack even if these two hadn’t come into our lives.” Derek says, “This is our territory and we are going to protect it and everyone in it. That includes Stiles and Isaac.”

“So what are we going to do, oh mighty Alpha?” Lydia asked with a quiet smile.

“We’re going to train. And patrol. We’re going to hold down the territory until Peter can locate The Collector. Then we kill him and everyone who threatens any shifter out there.” Derek says with such authority, with such confidence that for a split second. . .I actually believe him. 

But deep down, I feel the dread. The loss of light and hope at the mere thought that I could be taken. That Isaac could be taken. That this pack. . .this collection of such different characters all come together to form a family. . .will be taken and broken. Because I’ve seen it before. I’ve seen whole packs kidnapped and destroyed one by one. Murdered by ambitious scientists and regretfully. . .by me. I’ve killed my fare share of pack members and only to keep myself alive. I’ve done horrible. . .terrible things to keep myself alive and for what? So I could kill one more family. So I could tear them apart and murder the only people who have dared show me kindness. I might not be the one to turn them in, or the one who captures them, or even the one who brings them to another hellish version of where I grew up. But I am going to be the one and only reason why they all die.

And that knowledge rips my heart in two.


	5. Mate Found

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry it's taken so long for me to get to updating. I really got into one of my other stories and this one sorta. . .got lost. But I've reread my previous chapters and I'm probably going to be revising and updating soon, I promise! So this story is going to get a major face lift so until then, enjoy this chapter and the next time I update, the entire fic will be a masterpiece (fingers crossed)

Stiles sits alone in the backyard patio. He’s curled up in the crass in his fox form. The night air is cool and brushes against his fur lightly. It’s peaceful. With the moon shining brightly, illuminating the night and the grasshoppers chirping around him. He can’t help but revel in the sounds. The wind in the trees, the grasshoppers, the life around him. The amount of life that surrounds him. Since the information that The Collector is out and searching for him three days ago, Stiles hasn’t slept well. In fact, he hasn’t slept at all. He’s laid down with Isaac, curled around him and tried to sleep but the minute Stiles closes his eyes. . .all he sees is darkness. And that is by far the most terrifying thing he’s seen since leaving his cell. So every night, he’s been waiting for Isaac to fall asleep then he gets out of bed and lays outside.

He’s been alone in this venture for the past three nights but tonight, Derek steps out into the field with a few blankets in his arms and a mug of something hot and sweet smelling.

“You might want to shift to drink this.” He suggested. Stiles shifted and accepted the warm blanket that Derek offers him. He wraps it around himself tightly, inhaling Derek’s scent happily. Stiles believes wholeheartedly that nothing on Earth smells better than Derek’s scent. It’s warm and crisp with an undeniable underlying sweetness. Like evergreen and burning pine. Derek lays out another blanket and pats the spot next to him, inviting Stiles to sit next to him. Stiles happily obliges and sits somewhat stiffly beside the Alpha.

“What is that?” Stiles asked, pointing to the mug in Derek’s hand.

“Hot chocolate. Well. . .Mexican style hot chocolate. Champurrado.” He tells Stiles with a fond smile, “My mom used to make it for me all the time when I was young.”

“It’s very good.” Stiles smiles, he doesn’t think he’s ever had something so sweet and savory.

“What are you doing out here all alone?” Derek asks.

“I come out here at night. Can’t sleep.” Stiles sighs tiredly.

“When was the last time you’ve slept?”

“A few days ago.” Stiles confesses.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Derek asks carefully.

“I just. . .can’t handle being inside anymore. Walls are too. . .confining.” He sighs, sipping on the warm drink.

“You know we’re starting to train tomorrow. You really should try to sleep before then. We could really use a few lessons from you.” Derek says in an effort to lighten the mood.

“I’m sure you could.” Stiles laughed, “Derek. . .I’m still not too confident that it’s such a good idea I spar with with your betas.”

“Why not?”

“Because I can get lost. In my head when I’m fighting sometimes. The last thing I want is to kill someone.” Stiles says dejectedly.

“Stiles, I know you’re afraid of your own strength. You’re afraid of hurting people-”

“Let’s get one thing straight, Hale. I am _not_ afraid. I’m _not_ afraid of myself. My strength, my ability to kill. . .though it was all learned through cruel circumstances, I am grateful for them. It’s a part of me that has allowed me to survive. To kill others who would gladly kill me or the ones I love. I am not afraid of my strength.” Stiles says sternly, his face set in a harsh frown, “I am afraid of killing someone who doesn’t have it coming. An innocent. I am afraid of killing someone close to you.”

“You won’t kill anyone, Stiles.” Derek says confidently. He’s shaken slightly by Stiles’s tone. By the obvious danger in his voice and nature. . .but he’s confident in Stiles’s ability to control himself.

“How do you know? How are you so sure?” Stiles glares dangerously, “You don’t know me.”

“I know your spirit.” Derek insists, “I know who you are at your core.”

“Yeah? And who is that?” Stiles growls.

“A strong-willed, fiercely loyal, strong fox.” Derek says firmly, “You’re a fighter. Someone who was born into a fucked up situation and lost everything. But no matter what happened to you, you never lost who you are. So you might get lost in your head and forget. . .but you will never truly lose yourself.”

“Your faith in me is impressive. But I don’t understand why.”

“Why what?”

“Why you feel like this. We’ve known each other such a short time. I’ve never once smelled pity on you. . .or any other emotion anyone else feels around me when they see the scars. Or hear the stories.” The fox’s shoulders slump marginally in defeat. Suddenly so fucking tired that Stiles isn’t sure how he’s supposed to get up and trudge on.

“I know what it feels like to lose everything. Even yourself. And I know how it feels to be brought into a life that seems too good to be true.” Derek says, “My skin might not show my scars but. . .if you look hard enough. They’re there.”

“You hide them exceptionally well.” Stiles points out.

“Yeah well. I’ve had years of practice.”

“Will you tell me what happened?” Stiles asked gently. His eyes shone brightly in the moonlight, large and hopefully at Derek. The wolf isn’t sure he can say no to those eyes. Fuck, it’s like looking into a shot of whiskey, Derek thinks.

“It’s a long story.” Derek’s voice shakes.

“Well. . .I got nothing but time.” Stiles nudges his shoulder gently.

“I uh. . .well. To make a long story short: when I was fifteen I fell in love with the wrong woman. She killed my family and I’ve been running from her memory since then.”

“Why did she kill your family?” Stiles pushed.

“She was a hunter.” Derek sighed, “They live by a code but. . .she well-she never really was one for following the rules.”

“How did they die?”

“She locked them in the house and set it on fire. They burned to death.” Derek said, his voice strained, “And it was my fault really. Sure, she took advantage of a kid but I was stupid enough to be manipulated.”

“Have you ever heard of Murphy’s law?” Stiles asks him, “It’s the belief that if something can go wrong, it will. From what I know about hunters. Rogue hunters, as well, is that they are very good at their job. She would have killed them with or without your help. You were just a spoil of war to her. A trophy. Your suffering was nothing more to her than a bonus.”

Derek is at a loss for words. The fox has somehow managed to see Derek’s pain, interpret it and tell him what many others have told him before only. . .somehow Stiles has said it in a way he’s never heard before. Which is saying something. The wolf isn’t sure how Stiles managed to read him so well, as if he’s an open book. Derek looks at Stiles intensely. . .like he’s trying to see into the fox’s soul. And Stiles isn’t sure why he’s not shying away from that intense gaze. No, Stiles feels like he could bear his soul to the wolf and be completely safe. In fact, Stiles feels as if he should bear his all to Derek.

“She was a monster.” Derek said. At a loss for words.

“I guess we’ve both met our fair share of monsters then.” Stiles smiles a small, bitter smile.

“Yeah.” Derek’s head tilts slightly.

He’s grasping at every little detail that surrounds Stiles. The scars that litter his skin, the pale skin, the whiskey eyes, dotted moles, shaggy chestnut colored hair. The small movements his body makes subconsciously. Like his tapping foot or occasional fidgeting. Anything to understand this creature beside him.

“The world is full of monsters, Derek.” Stiles says sadly, “Sometimes it seems like there are more monsters than angels.”

“There are still angels in this world.” Derek whispers, his massive body gravitates towards Stiles’s, the fox presses himself against Derek’s side, taking in all the heat rolling off the wolf’s body. Derek took the edge of the blanket that Stiles had wrapped himself in and brought it around his own shoulders. And the wolf wrapped an arm around his fox, content to hold him and convince him that there is still good. . .there are still truly good people in the world.

“Derek. . .I-” His eyes are wide. . .so impossibly wide.

“God, Stiles. Your eyes. . .”

Silence falls over the both of them. For a time, neither knows how long, they just look into each other’s eyes. For a moment, to them it feels as if they’re looking into each other’s soul. To Stiles, Derek’s green eyes shine so brightly that they almost glow. The creases in Derek’s face are deeply set. The frown and worry lines on his face look just as chiseled in as his strong chin. The thick scruff of his face isn’t too carefully shaved. He’s busy with so many things that at the end of the day, the last thing he thinks about is shaving. But that’s not what strikes Stiles speechless. It’s the feeling he’s getting from the Alpha’s eyes. The warmth. The. . .something. . .that no one but Isaac has looked at him with since his parents. Stiles feels like his heart is going to explode. The scents flooding his nose make him feel like he’s high. It’s intoxicating.

Derek can see the scars, the pain, the deep sorrow inside of Stiles. He can also see the determination to live, to find something more than what he’s been living with.

Derek can see the desire to be alive. The fire in those whiskey brown eyes.

Derek loves those eyes.

He loves the man with the whiskey eyes and the fire in his soul. He loves the fox that’s looking at him with something akin to wonder and. . .something else.

“Why did you save me?” Stiles whispered. Derek could feel his warm breath caressing his lips.

“You needed help, I wasn’t about to-”

“No. Derek, I mean, why did you carry me out? Why did you care for me? Bathe me and fix me. . .why do you-”

“Stiles. . .why does anyone do anything? For the one they love?” Derek answered honestly.

The fox’s jaw drops and there’s a small squeak that escaped him. He could hear the truth in Derek’s voice and Stiles knows that he feels for the wolf too. . . but it’s so early. Can someone really love another person after such a short time of knowing them? Derek cared for Stiles for weeks when he couldn’t do it himself. Stiles knows he can count on Derek because for some reason. . .this Alpha of his has been there every day. He’s let Stiles go at his own pace and heal on his own. And there’s been that feeling in the pit of Stiles’s stomach, that something extra he’s felt for Derek since the wolf first held him in his arms. And here is now, sharing with Stiles, telling him his story and reassuring him that there are still good people, the world is still good.

“You don’t-you don’t have to say it back.” Derek says awkwardly.

“Derek, I-I’m just not sure-”

“Listen, Stiles. I know what it’s like to be afraid. Afraid of losing whatever it is you have. After Kate then Jennifer. . .I’ve been terrified of feeling anything for someone. Because I was scared that I would get hurt again. Or worse, my pack would get hurt. But I don’t want to be afraid anymore.” Derek says earnestly, “I want to live life, I want to have a life. With you. And I know that you don’t want to live your life a prisoner to your own fear.”

“Derek, Izzy has been the only person to ever show me love. It’s been me and him for our entire lives. You may know some amount of my life but you don’t know everything. The things they did to me. . .the things I’ve had to do-”

“Everything you’ve done has been to survive.” Derek says.

“I’m a killer Derek.” Stiles flowers, “I’ve killed countless animals, werewolves and other supernatural creatures. I’ve killed humans. And sometimes. . .sometimes I loved it. The rush, the satisfaction. . .the safety.”

“You were never safe. And what you did to protect yourself and Isaac kept both of you alive so that I could hold you one day. So that I could tell you that I don’t blame you or hate you for what you did.” Derek says, “I could never ever see you as anything other than what you are: a survivor.”

“Why do you feel like this? For me? Surely there’s someone so much better than I am. Someone you deserve, someone not so. . .broken.” Stiles questions defeatedly.

“We’re both broken, Stiles. And there is no one on this earth that I feel like this for. You’re a fox, use your senses. My scent, my touch. . .” He brushes his fingers against Stiles’s bare arm sending electricity through the fox’s veins, “Listen to your body, to what I make you feel.” Stiles knows he’s right. Stiles knows the feeling being shot through his body. It feels like there’s fire in his blood and his skin is burning under Derek’s touch. Stiles knows that Derek’s scent is what drives him crazy day in and day out.

“You don’t need to say it back, Stiles. I don’t expect you to at all. All I want is for you to heal in your own time and that we just. . .take it slow. Friendship to whatever you want us to be. . .I’d be happy to just have you in my life.” Derek says honestly, “I’ll sit out here every night with you. If you want.”

“I think I would like that very much.” Stiles smiles shyly at the wolf’s offer. Stiles knows that he doesn’t have to say it back. He knows that Derek would never pressure him. So for now, Stiles is content to just be held in the Alpha’s arms.

“You really should try to sleep.” Derek smiles.

“If I try, will you stay out here with me?” Stiles asks. Suddenly, he’s afraid he might not be able to handle being alone.

“Of course.” Derek says, “I’ll join you in the shift.”

Stiles nods and shifts back to his fox form. He watches Derek undress and doesn’t even bother to avert his eyes. Nudity isn’t something he’s bashful about. The Alpha shifts into his large black wolf form and lays beside his fox, their furs contrasts so starkly that Derek can’t help but admire. The bright orange and fiery red fur melds to his pitch black fur. Derek curls around the fox, pulling his form into his side and pulls the blanket over both their bodies. Stiles doesn’t want to admit that he’s extremely comfortable. After a few minutes of companionable silence, Stiles feels the full brunt of his exhaustion hit him full force and he’s looking at Derek skeptically.

“What did you put in that hot chocolate?” He asks playfully after yawning loudly.

“It’s pretty good at putting you to sleep, huh?” The wolf chuckles.

“Yeah, no kidding.” Stiles mumbles tiredly.

“Sleep now.” Derek’s deep, rumbly voice and calm breathing serves to lull the fox into the darkness.

“Don’t leave.” Stiles asks him before passing out.

“Never.” Derek says, smiling fondly to the fox that’s managed to find sleep after days of avoiding it.

Derek watches Stiles sleep for a few minutes more, the rise and fall of his chest as he breathes, the powerful beating of his heart, the light snoring. To Derek, The fox looks dead to the world. Derek has never been able to hold Stiles at night. He had never been able to watch over him as he slept and lay by his side, a sentry standing guard. But that’s his job tonight and he couldn’t be more happy to provide that for Stiles. He had just bore his soul to the fox and wasn’t turned away. No, Derek was accepted. His feelings for the fox had been received with the potential of being reciprocated. Yes, Derek has found someone to finally share his feelings and even have a future with. Derek knows he loves the fox, he can’t deny that. The touch and smell, the feeling of Stiles. . . it’s like nothing he’s ever felt. Everything has fallen into place, the final piece of the puzzle has been found and the wolf’s soul finally feels complete.

Yes, Derek has found his mate and he’ll be damned if he ever loses him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks everyone for reading! Let me know what you think, what you wanna read, stuff like that!


	6. Closure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heads up: there will be mentions of rape and cruelty. Be warned.

“Alright, everyone,” Derek shouted to get the attention of the pack. They quieted down soon enough, giving their full attention to the Alpha, “Stiles and Isaac are going to be helping us today. So I want everyone to shut up and be grateful.”

“Derek, you really think this is a good idea?” Erica questioned bluntly.

“Definitely.” He grinned at her, “Now I want all of you to listen to them and do as they say.”

Derek’s command hits them all and most of them nod reluctantly. They’re apprehensive about Stiles and Isaac, two incredibly dangerous fighters, sparring with the rest of them. So there they stood in the massive backyard behind the Hale property, silently preparing themselves for what’s about to happen. Stiles stands before the pack, shirtless, exposing his textured skin to the world unashamed. The pack stares blatantly at his horribly marred skin. With full sunlight shining on his skin, every angle, curve and jagged scar is highlighted. The topography that is Stiles’s skin is painfully obvious to the eye. And not only is there an air of pity, but there’s an air of intimidation. No one could deny the fierceness that is Stiles. His enhanced muscle definition emphasizes each little sinew of muscle, every curve of his body. It’s all out in the open and he looks terrifyingly strong.

Isaac is also shirtless, his pale skin shines and contrasts greatly with Stiles’s but there’s no denying the muscles and toned structure of the wolf’s body. He’s not muscular like Derek or Boyd, but there’s still an underlying threat about the wolf. Their gray joggers sit low on their hips. Though, Stiles would have liked to fight naked. Derek shot that idea down fast. The pack stares at the fox and the wolf expectantly.

“Well? Come at us.” Stiles sighs. Derek’s eyebrows scrunch together in confusion as does  

most of the pack’s.

“What?” Allison asked dumbly.

“Come at us.” Isaac repeats.

“All of us?” Lydia questioned.

“We’re not going to say it again. Fucking come at us.” Stiles growls.

Erica is the first to grow a pair and rush at the two. Soon after, the rest of the pack joins the fight against the brothers. Without even breaking a sweat, Stiles flips Boyd on his ass and jerks his arm out of its socket roughly, dislocating it. He stays down. Isaac hits Erica in the larynx so hard that she falls to her knees gasping for breath, vision fading out in black spots. She doesn’t get up either. Scott runs at Stiles with his claws extended in a partial shift and he roars loudly. As he charges at Stiles, the fox moves his body gracefully and lands a roundhouse kick to his head. There’s a sickening crunch and the wolf goes down like a sack of potatoes at Stiles’s feet. 

Stiles hears a bow being pulled back then the whistle of an arrow flying through the air. He catches the arrow midair easily. With a pointed glare, he throws it back at the huntress. The arrow sails through the air at a blinding speed and hits a tree beside Allison’s head. Another three inches to the left and he would have hit her through the eye. Lydia stands by Derek, watching everything going down as Isaac and Stiles take down pack members left and right. Jackson rushed at Isaac, going straight for his head. Then, the twins stand with their claws out and eyes glowing dangerously. Stiles is happy to say that the twins take longer to take down. They dodge every single hit that Isaac throws at them, they even manage to knock him on his ass. But they made one, major mistake. They tag teamed Isaac. Leaving them completely distracted. That’s really the problem with relying on rage to fuel your power. Your focus is centered on one thing and one thing only. And for the twins in that moment, Isaac is that focus. Stiles happily knocked their skulls together and pressed their bodies to the ground. They went down quickly. 

“I could have crushed your skulls together in three seconds flat.” Stiles spoke easily, “Allison, I don’t even need to tell you how easy it would have been to kill you. Boyd, you’re massive but you lack speed. You were everywhere all at once.”

“Erica, if I had hit you with even the slightest bit more force, I would have crushed your larynx and you would be dead. Jackson, you’re just an idiot running on basic instinct.” Isaac sighs.

“We’re being protected by toddlers.” Stiles growls.

“Hey!” Allison squeaks indignantly.

“They’re not that bad.” Derek’s eyebrows pinch together.

“You’re right. They’re worse.” Stiles corrects himself.

“Hey, if you think you could do so well on your own you can fucking leave.” Jackson growls.

“You think we’re saying this to hurt your feelings?” Stiles snickers, “You really are no better than a toddler. Do you have any idea what kind of people The Collector has on his payroll? The mercenaries he has at his disposal? The fucking horrible people he’s using to find us?”

“Stiles-”

“No, Izzy.” Stiles cuts him off, “They want to protect us, they should know what they’re getting into. I’m not going to lie to all of you. It would be so much safer for all of you if we left because involving yourselves with us means that now you’re in their way. They won’t hesitate to torture, kill, imprison. . .hell, they might even want to make you their newest experiments.”

“These people. . .they’re highly trained and they have no conscious. They won’t feel bad about killing you in cold blood. They won’t feel bad about anything they do.” Isaac said.

“We can beat them.” One of the twins, Aiden says. He sounds so sure.

“No, you can’t. Not with this piss poor amount of training you’ve had.” Stiles said.

“You’re just exaggerating.” Jackson sneered.

“You think I’m-” Stiles laughs, “You fucking prick. These are the people they sent after me and my father when we attempted an escape. This-” He points to a bullet hole in his diaphragm then to a long, jagged car on his neck, “They slit my throat. Not deep enough to kill, but just deep enough to scar. Then they shot me and made me watch as they dismembered my father and left him in the bushes to rot. When they dragged me back into the lab, they pumped drugs into my system to keep me from healing. When I thought it was all over, they stuck me in a room with The Collector. What he did to me. . .”

Stiles chokes, making a noise of utter distress. Isaac places a warm hand on his arm, silencing his brother.

“You don’t owe them an explanation.” Isaac says calmly, “You don’t know the horror that we suffered at the hands of those brutes. And we don’t want you to experience the horror.” Isaac addressed the rest of the pack. Stiles takes another moment to compose himself. He struggles to shut down the endless flow of memories he wishes he could forget. There’s nothing but pain in his past. Endless pain. 

“Pair up. Start sparring. Isaac and I will walk around.” Stiles says breathlessly trying to move on.

Derek swiftly made his way to Stiles and places a warm hand on his shoulder. The firmness of this gesture gives the fox a chance to breathe easier. . .to feel connected to reality and not lose himself in his memories. Stiles smiles weakly at the wolf and took to watching the bettas spar. Isaac was going around giving advice, fixing stances and teaching. He spent time with each person, however, he started to drift closer to Allison and Stiles could very clearly see the smitten look he wears for her. Stiles remains beside Derek and watches. He can’t say he’s particularly impressed with the pack. They’re strong, sure, but painfully untrained. Unfocused.

“So on a scale from one to ten, how bad are they?” Derek sighs.

“I’d give them a collective nine.” Stiles laughs, “They can be taught.”

“I should have been training them better. I’m not a very good teacher.” The Alpha frowns.

“How well do you fight?” Stiles asks curiously.

“Well enough.” The wolf chuckles.

“Why don’t you show me, all mighty Alpha.” Stiles teases lightly, “Spar with me.”

“Stiles-”

“Afraid of little ol’ me?” 

“Definitely not.” Derek smirks.

“Then spar with me.” Stiles repeats.

“Fine. But don’t cry to me when you get hurt.” Stiles snorts. Derek knows that the fox could easily beat him in a fight and he knows that he is nowhere near as trained as Stiles but he wants to spar with his mate.

They find a space and square up to each other. Stiles assumes his stance and falls into it as easily as he would fall asleep. His trained technique is obvious to Derek. They circle each other for a few moments, Derek’s eyes rake over Stiles’s powerful form taking in the fox’s fluid movements and his creamy skin. Derek would be lying if he said that he isn’t painfully aroused by the man in front of him. But Stiles is calculating, he’s impressively focused and meticulous. Each movement is thought out and flows into the next. It seems premeditated but. . .Derek knows that Stiles’s brain is this calculating as second nature. It’s ingrained in Stiles’s behaviour. And that is perhaps the most terrifying and saddening things to Derek. 

The way Stiles fights with Derek resembles that of a dance, the two of them move gracefully around one another, avoiding hits and landing blows. Isaac knows just from watching the two, that Stiles is going easy on Derek. Judging from the small smile on his brother’s face, Stiles himself knows that he’s going easy on the wolf. Derek has his claws out, glinting in the sunlight, and he’s making fairly good judgement calls when striking out at Stiles. But the fox is clever and far more agile than the wolf. Stiles lands hard and fast blows to Derek’s ribs, quickly growing tired of their dance. He swipes Derek’s legs out from under him and wraps his strong fingers around Derek’s neck with his claws extended. Then pressed their sharp tips against his pulse. 

“I win.” Stiles gives him a shit eating grin. 

“You’re amazing. . .” Derek smiles back at him, “You were taking it easy on me, though.” 

“Just a little.” Stiles whispers lowly. His body presses just a little more urgently, earning a chuckle from the wolf under him. Derek’s fingers press against Stiles’s hips. The two of them stare deeply into each other’s eyes and Derek swears that he can see flecks of fire burning in Stiles’s irises. Then someone clears their throat noisily, bringing the two right out of their intimate moment. 

“Why don’t we break for lunch?” Derek sighed, annoyed at the interruption. Stiles gives a small huff and jumps to his feet, offering a hand to lift Derek to his. 

Isaac gives Stiles a knowing grin, their silent conversation goes unnoticed by everyone else except for Derek, who watches the two of them communicating with utter fascination. Their bond to one another is strong and no matter what could happen, who could happen, the two of them are brothers. The pack storms the kitchen and works to scarf down whatever food Derek has stocked in his kitchen. And Isaac gravitates towards a happily receptive Allison. Derek settles himself closely to Stiles and the happy atmosphere seems to calm everyone. There’s loud chatter and banter back and forth, the pack that has taken in the two broken weres is undeniably close. Stiles observes their interactions and can clearly identify the familial nature of this pack. 

Then there’s a noise about ten miles out on Derek’s private driveway. Isaac and Stiles are first to hear it, of course. They fall silent and their heads snap in the direction of the noise. It’s moving fast and once it hits six miles out, they can smell who it is just as the other wolves are now getting to hear it. The smell sends a sick feeling down to the pit of Stiles’s stomach and he feels like curling up and hiding. Isaac removes himself from Allison’s side and rushes to his brother, pulling him into his arms and tugging him towards the forest in the opposite direction.

“Stiles! Wait, what’s going on?” Derek shouts after the two, stopping them. He’s startled by the fox’s terrified expression.

“It’s Melissa.” Isaac grumbles. 

“It’s just my mother. She’s been wanting to see the two of you.” Scott says. The rest of the pack follows Stiles out to the grass.

“I don’t-I don’t. . .” Stiles takes a deep breath and tells himself to spit it out, stop being weak, “I don’t want to see her.”

“She helped save your ungrateful ass!” Scott shouts at the two, earning a warning growl from Derek. 

“You don’t understand, Scott.” Isaac growled.

“She raised you! She fucking took care of you two when she sure as hell didn’t have to.” Scott defends his mother.

“Scott-” Derek says threateningly. The Alpha doesn’t like how Stiles’s heart is thrumming so fast, faster than usual.

“No, Derek! These two owe her their lives. She’s been so upset at home since all of this went down because they refuse to see her.” He says angrily, “She  _ saved  _ you.” Scott spits.

“Stiles, breathe please.” Isaac whines to his brother who receives a shaky nod from the fox.

“T-trying,” The fox struggled. Stiles knows that he hates his vulnerable state at the moment. He hates that he’s being so weak. He hates that he’s thinking more and more about his past. He’s panicking. Derek approaches him slowly, carefully. Looking at Stiles for permission to touch him. But Stiles can barely stand Isaac’s touch. He shrinks into Isaac’s side, trying to make himself smaller but failing and Derek’s heart breaks only a little. He nods in understanding and backs off.

Then the door opens and Stiles’s knees buckle. Isaac props him up, accepting the responsibility of being strong for the both of them. 

“I’ll keep us safe, brother.” Isaac promises.

“I-I want to l-leave.” Stiles stutters, just barely regaining his breath. Isaac nods in understanding and hoists him against his body, walking the two of them towards the trailhead at the edge of the treeline. 

“Wait!” Melissa’s voice calls out and against his will, Stiles lets out a strangled whimper, “Please! Stiles, Isaac, I just want to talk.” 

“Melissa, I think you should go. Stiles isn’t in any condition to talk.” Derek says carefully. He’s known the woman for the majority of his life, hell, she’s like a second mother to him, so it’s not his intention to hurt her. However, he can recognize that Stiles doesn’t want her around.

“Please, Derek, I just want to speak to them. Check on them.” She pleads.

Stiles ignores their conversation, instead, he works on controlling his breathing. On getting back to stable. He wants more than anything to expose her for all her wrongdoings, for everything she did to hurt them. He knows Isaac is still on the fence, but even he doesn’t know everything she’s ‘protected’ him from. No, as a kid, Stiles didn’t want to add to Isaac’s nightmares.

“You don’t know.” Stiles told his brother in a breathless whisper.

“I don’t know what, Stiles.” Isaac asks urgently.

“I never told you.” He choked.

“Brother, please.” Isaac cried. He held the fox tighter, entreating him to speak, “Maybe speaking with her will provide closure.”

“I just want her to stay away from me.” Stiles whimpered.

“Stiles, please just talk to me. Tell me how I can make it better. I used to make it better. . .” Melissa pleads with tears in her eyes. Stiles turned to make eye contact with her and the moment their eyes meet, his shaking stops. His breathing evens and all his emotions collide at once. He’s angry and sad and tired and so vengeful that he feels the need to hurt her. So that’s what he does.

“You don’t get to speak to me.” Stiles growled at her.

“Stiles, baby, please-”

“Do  _ not  _ call me your ‘baby’. I am not your child and you are not my mother.” Stiles feels his hackles rising, “When I see you, I’m reminded of those mornings you would walk me to that god forsaken infirmary and tend to my wounds. After they tore me apart, after they fucking ripped my soul to shreds. You were there. With a shoulder to cry on and a warm smile. Trying to show me that you care. But you didn’t care. You  _ never  _ cared. If you cared you would have done something. Anything to help me.” 

“Stiles you know I couldn’t they would have-”

“They would have killed you? Scott? You’re a coward.” I growled, “When my father begged you for help in our escape, when he begged you to open the door. The one door that would have guaranteed our freedom without exposing you. . .you said no. You separated us from Isaac and made him believe we left him there.” Stiles says threateningly. Isaac hears the truth in his words as he’s taken back to that day as a nine year old pup, devastated that his brother and surrogate father left him in that place. He remembers how it took Stiles weeks of begging and crying for forgiveness for something that was never his fault. But Isaac hadn’t known that at the time. He feels shame for ever doubting his family. 

“Stiles, I tried but your father didn’t understand and it got him killed.” Melissa tried to make excuses. But every single wolf could hear the lies in her words. 

“You sent us into the waiting arms of those brutes. They murdered my father! Tore him to pieces! And when I was dragged back, kicking and screaming and crying, you stood by. You watched them throw me into a room with the Collector. A man so obsessed with me. A man who r-raped me.” Stiles stuttered as his confession tumbled out. Melissa’s tears and regret permeate the air.

“I didn’t know-” 

“Oh but you did.” He laughed almost in hysterics, “You knew because you listened to him. You listened to him abuse me and rape me. Over and over again. For years. And when he was done with me, he put me in your arms and grinned because he knew that after you cleaned me and fixed the damage his cock had done. . .he knew that he could do it again.” 

Melissa wasn’t the only one in tears after Stiles’s confession. The pack is so thoroughly disgusted. Lydia and Allison are gripping each other, their hands covering their mouths, struggling to constrain their hiccuping cries. The boys all look pale. Even the stone faced Boyd looks sick to his stomach. Derek is struggling to remain calm when all he wants is to rip someone to shreds and hold his fox in his arms and comfort him.

“The worst part was my dependance on you. Some days after being so broken and injured, I could hardly breathe. And you would hold me and care for me. So when you dumped me back in my cage I cried for you. For touch. For love. But then you would disappear. And I would have nothing for who knows how long. And that continued for years. After they beat me, you’d be there. After they raped me, you were there. After they sliced me up and butchered my body, you were there. But you never stuck around for the aftermath. When I needed you most.” Stiles said. All the fire and rage burning out in his chest. Now there’s only greif. And want.

“I did my best, Stiles.” She stood taller now, trying to straighten out and present herself as strong and not the weak, disheveled human she is.

“Your best. . .like with my kit.” My voice broke again. Her eyes widened and she suddenly went pale white. 

“Oh my God. . .” Isaac whimpered, “Melissa tell me, please tell me you had nothing to do with the pup’s death.” But Melissa went silent. She didn’t speak, because she knows her own guilt. She lives with it every day.

“You ripped her from my body and handed her over to  _ him.  _ And he let her die. Cold and alone.” Tears spill down my face as the raw pain and memories threaten to make me pass out.

“You told me she died after taking her first breath. . .that Stiles held her and she wasn’t strong enough to live.” Isaac growled at her, “You lied to me.”

“I didn’t-”

“Because of your actions. My baby died on a steel table. Crying for me. Because you didn’t put her back into my arms, even after the Collector left. You left her there.” Stiles cried. He had been sixteen when he birthed her and being so young, so fragile. . .it broke Stiles in the a way he had never known he could be broken. But leave it to Melissa to find a way. Most days he could forget that empty feeling in his heart, forget the cries his daughter made, forget her scent. Forget  _ her _ . But other days. . .well other days it took everything in him and Isaac to keep from curling up and withering away.

“I’m so sorry, Stiles. You should never have been forced to carry her. It was a cruel and twisted experiment. And the wolf whose sperm was donated only made the child an abomination. She was something. . .twisted-”

“She was mine!” Stiles screamed at her, the raw emotion in his voice forced everyone to their knees in sorrow, “She was part of me! Half me! She may have been forced and only an experiment but she was my kit! And it wasn’t her fault.” 

Stiles cried with everything inside of him. It felt like his bones were going to cave in and disintegrate. He felt as if his entire being was being taken apart. He could still feel the phantom kick in his belly. His kit. His flesh and blood. Stolen. Just like everything else of his.

“Melissa I think you should go.” Derek said, still trying to come to terms with all this new information.

“Derek-”

“You will  _ never  _ be able to make it up to me. To us. I will never forgive you for all that you’ve done to me. I don’t care that you’re sorry, I don’t care that you’re hurt. I never want to see you again.” Stiles says firmly, still clutched close to Isaac.

“ _ Please _ , Stiles-” She hiccuped.

“For my kit, I should kill you.” He threatened, “I should rip you to pieces and make you feel everything I feel. But I can’t. Because the pain I feel. . .is unlike anything I could inflict on you. You could come home every night to your pup, hold him close, watch him grow up. I couldn’t do that with my baby.”

Stiles looked to Isaac, the both of them utterly wrecked. Their pain and sorrow unmatched by anyone around them, found solace again in one another. Stiles’s silent plea to be taken somewhere safe. Somewhere away from so many prying eyes was heard by Isaac. And from there, Stiles shut down completely. The blankness and hollowness in his eyes sent terrible shivers through Derek. Isaac ignored Derek and pulled Stiles into his arms in a bridal hold and walked down the trail. Melissa tried to make a move toward them but the entire pack, including Scott, stepped in front of her. 

“You need to leave.” Erica said coldly.

“Unless Stiles and Isaac say otherwise, you’re not going to see them again. I don’t want you around here unless given permission beforehand, is that clear?” Derek demanded.

“But-” For Melissa, her whole world is collapsing in front of her.

“Let me take you home, mom.” Scott says weakly. Melissa looks like she wants to argue. She wants to insist but there’s no budging the wolves. In the end, Scott pulls his mother towards her car, leaving the pack standing completely unsure and emotionally tapped out.

“I want everyone to set up the backyard for a pack pile tonight. Stiles is new, I know. But he’s finally opening up to us and even though his past is. . .horrible and sickening, we need to be there for him. We need to be a pack. His pack.” Derek says to everyone. They nod and quickly start delegating to one another on what to do. 

“What about Stiles and Isaac?” Lydia asks, still wiping away tears.

“They know not to go far. I can hear them by the creek only a mile away. I’ll be here if they need me.” Derek sighs, “Right now they need space, and Stiles needs a moment to breathe.”

. . .

As the sun sets, Derek approaches a fully shifted Isaac and Stiles carefully. They’re snuggled close together by the edge of the creek, comforting one another. They lift their heads, giving him their full attention.

“Dinner is done. And we’ve set up a nest in the backyard for tonight.” Derek tells them, “We don’t want you to be alone right now, Stiles. And I know that you have Isaac, but we want you to have more. We want you to have us.” 

Stiles considers this for a moment and knows that Derek and the others want him to open up to them, they want him to be happy and to help mend the damage done to him over the years. Isaac feels a surge of happiness and love for the pack. The only people who have shown the two of them such unconditional love in so long. So Isaac gives Stiles a gentle lick to the snout and scents him.

“ _ Stiles, let Derek carry you back.”  _ Isaac says, his intelligent eyes pleading with his brother, “ _ Derek, he’s been pretty emotionally drained and is very unsteady on his feet so if you will. . .” _

Stiles gives him a slow nod and allows the Alpha to lift him into his arms. The warmth and comfort flowing off of the wolf soothes Stiles so much that the fox is practically preening. Stiles is damaged but somehow Derek is starting to pick up the pieces. 

Once back at the house, Derek puts Stiles on an extremely comfortable pillow in the massive nest laying in the grass, silently urging him to shift back. Stiles knows he will have to sooner or later and speaking is easier in his human form. So once he’s covered up, he’s handed a hot slice of pepperoni pizza and joined by the pack, who meander into the nest one at a time. They’re trying not to be awkward. Key word:  _ trying.  _ Stiles gives them credit for that. And after Isaac’s many attempts at lightening the mood, it grows somber again as they’re all laying tightly packed together, staring at the stars. Stiles has managed to be wrapped in Derek’s warm arms, tucked against his shirtless wolf. Isaac, again has migrated to Allison and is currently holding her gently. They’ve been silent for a while now, just there. Present with one another. Then Stiles sighs. Because he knows they have questions. He can feel their anxiety despite the calming atmosphere.

“Please just ask your questions. Let’s get it over with.” He says weakly.

“You had a baby?” Of course that’s the first question. It’s an extremely sore spot for Stiles but he knows that he had a kit. He remembers her and wants the world to know she existed. Because if he didn’t remember her, if he didn’t speak of her, the world might never know.

“Yes. She was . . .she was absolutely beautiful. In the few minutes I knew her. She smelled like cloves and sunlight.” He smiled. Derek’s arms tighten around him.

“How? I mean, you’re a-”

“Male. Yes. I am male but one of the many experiments I was subjected to left me with a uterus. I’m not all too clear on how they did it. Some major plastic surgery, drugs, and transplants. They rearranged my entire system. I was bedridden for months.” He explained.

“Did you love her?” 

“Yes. Even now I can hear her first cries. Her voice haunts me every day. And her little face scrunched up. . .she was beautiful.” A tear slipped out and Stiles took a deep breath, “Being pregnant was the worst. I had terrible morning sickness all the time.”

“You puked on my feet once during an exam.” Isaac chuckled, “If you can picture a big bellied, grumpy Stiles puking on my feet then again on the doctor’s nice white lab coat.” 

Everyone laughed a little, it’s a sad laugh for the memories that still hurt but are somewhat fond. It’s an odd combination and no one knows whether to laugh or cry so they end up doing both.

“She’s still difficult to talk about.” Stiles’s voice broke, “And it’s a hole in me that will never be filled, the longing I feel for my baby. Even though I never knew her father and I weep for the life she should have had, I know her. I knew her for as long as I could. And I’m grateful for that.” 

Stiles continues to answer their questions through the rest of the night. They can tell that he’s hurting so much. But they’re starting to come together and they know that Stiles is a part of them now. Their bonds with him and Isaac are thin, but they’re there and they’re growing. He’s been accepted and he’s starting to become one with them. So when everyone’s asleep, him and Derek are still awake, whispering quietly to one another until they give in the to the darkness.

“Stiles-”

“She would not have made it past her third year in that place. By the time you rescued us, she would have died long before then.” Stiles said, “It is a great consolation to me that she didn’t suffer more than she did. She deserves to be at peace.”

“So do you.” Derek said, “I don’t know what to say that could make it better. I don’t know what I could say to take away your pain and heal you.”

“Tell me you love me.” Stiles says quietly.

“I love you. More than anything.” Derek answered, without a moment of hesitation.

“That is enough for me.” The fox gives a small smile, “You know my darkest secrets now and you’re still here with me. Supporting me and loving me. Touching me in a way I’ve been deprived of my entire life. That is what I need to heal. Because one day, I will have a life, a family, I’ll have you.” 

“You still. . .would you want that with me?” Derek asks so timidly, so afraid of the answer but desperate to know.

“I want pups of my own that I know will be safe. Because here with you is safe. They’ll have a better life than I ever had.” Stiles answered honestly, “It’ll take time but I’ll get there. I promise.”

“You take all the time you need, Stiles.” Derek tells him.

And as the pair fall asleep, wrapped in each other, Stiles finally feels himself healing. When Derek’s breathing evens out and Stiles knows he’s asleep, he kisses the Alpha’s nose softly.

“I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> how'd I do?


	7. The Earth Thrums with the Sounds of War

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys are gonna hate me but. . .

For the first time in the two months that Isaac and Stiles came into the Hale pack, the two of them are separated. It was not done without great convincing as neither brother wished to leave the other for even a minute but Allison had somehow convinced him that they should go out. Go. . . _ out  _ out. So despite their reluctance, Stiles doesn’t wish to keep Isaac from the hunter who has somehow stolen his affections. As the two have grown closer and closer, Stiles can see the heart eyes his brother makes at her when she’s not looking. Just as the rest of the pack can clearly see it as well. Isaac is warming up to everyone beautifully and Stiles would rather die than keep his brother from forming relationships with people who love and protect him. No, far be it for him to make his brother suffer for his own paranoia and hesitance. 

While it is true that Stiles himself is still warming up to the pack, painfully slowly, he’s grown closer to a particular Alpha with broody eyebrows and strong arms. The fox seems to be falling more and more in love with the wonderful smelling wolf and finds himself gravitating towards the Alpha more often than not. The two go on walks through the preserve together often, they sleep outside when Stiles can’t sleep and train in their spare time. Stiles has been a wonderful teacher and Derek, an attentive student. It seems to be a match made in heaven. So when Allison and Isaac go out, not to return for several hours at least, Stiles must amuse himself. The pack are all out and about doing their own thing on a beautifully warm Saturday afternoon with the promise of sparring and training after dinner with the fox. His favorite wolf has also been obliged to heading into town that Saturday to take care of some legal matters in regards to his ownership of an apartment building somewhere in town. So for the first time since he’s arrived at the Hale house, Stiles finds himself alone. 

He had reassured his wolf and his brother that he could take care of himself and that all would be well for the few hours that he would be home alone. They still felt very unsure over leaving him alone but felt confident that the house is well concealed and no one knew of the fox’s presence outside of the pack. The assumption that Stiles would be safe and that no one knew the location of the house were both. . .wrong. As only an hour into Stiles’s solitude, a knock on the door resounded through the house and fear pierced the fox’s heart. He knows what’s happening and he knows he’s not going to live through or escape this. So he opened the door.

“Look at you. . .just as beautiful as the day I lost you.” A slimy, slippery voice that Stiles knew to the depths of his soul to be pure evil spoke from the doorway.

“Collector.” Stiles says breathily, all the air suddenly missing from his lungs. 

“Now, now, is that any way to greet your Master?” The older man’s grin is devilish, it’s the same grin that haunts his nightmares, “Do be a dear and put a kettle to boil, would you, beautiful?”

Stiles knows that his request is an order and though he wants to fight, wants to  _ kill.  _ He can’t. Because not only is his body not obeying his brain, Stiles knows that if the devil is on his doorstep, he best listen lest the consequences be too great. He turns on his heel and against every instinct in his body, makes his way to the kitchen to do as The Collector asked. Before he knows it, the man is seated at the bar and his men take their positions in the room. There’s too many to fight off. He’s cornered and The Collector looks completely at ease. He is just as Stiles remembers him to be. A bald, surly looking older gentleman. Tall and thin but his demeanor and the air about him holds a palpable sense of fear and death and authority. He’s wearing his favorite gray suit with his favorite red tie. He used to say that the tie was the closest color he could find to match Stiles’s tail. He once gagged Stiles with that tie. 

“I see you and your friend have found a home here.” He gives Stiles a sick grin, “I hope you enjoyed your time here because it’s come to an end.” His tone is cold, suddenly taking the direction of the conversation in a completely different direction. 

“Now don’t look at me like that, darling. Not when I’m about to offer you the best offer you’ll ever receive.” He tilts his head at Stiles, observing him and taking in his appearance. Stiles feels like he’s being undressed with the man’s shifty little eyes.

“And what would that offer be, Collector?” Stiles grits through his teeth, his fingers still clench the counter so tight there are going to be cracks in the granite.

“We’ve located Isaac. His little huntress and him look quite happy together. And every single member of your  _ pack _ ,” The Collector spits the word like a curse, “Are all being watched right as we speak.”

Ice shoots through Stiles’s veins. He feels as if his world has been ripped out from under him and now he’s willing to do anything to save his brother, his pack, his Alpha.

“What are you offering, exactly?” Stiles glares as best he can, trying to put up a mask of strength and power.

“Well, dear boy, I am simply offering a trade. If you agree to come with us willingly, I will leave your friends alone. No tricks, nothing, because the moment you do something wrong, one of them dies.” The Collector sneers, “I am only after you and will be perfectly happy to leave with you in my possession in exchange for sparing their lives.”

Stiles is forcing down the bile that threatens to be thrown from his body. He knows that this is his one chance to save everyone. If he refuses, they all die and he still gets taken. If he accepts, they live and he lives out the rest of his life as a slave, a pet. But his friends will live. His brother, his great love. . .they live. So to Stiles, the choice isn’t difficult to make.

“How can I trust that you will let them go?” Stiles questions weakly.

“You have my word. What do a couple wolves mean to me when I can have a fox?” The Collector smiles, “If you come quietly and do as I say, no one will get hurt and I’ll back off from your pack.” 

“Can I write a goodbye to Isaac before we go. . .Master. . .” Stiles almost chokes on the words but when The Collector gives a nod in permission, Stiles is relieved if only a little.

Now comes the hardest part for Stiles. The goodbye. He writes it quickly. On a piece of paper he quickly tells Isaac all he wishes and on the backside of the paper, he writes a goodbye to Derek. He feels the sting of tears at the back of his eyelids but he refuses to let them fall. Not in front of this man. He hasn’t cried in front of him since he was a child and he’s not about to now. Stiles feels as though he has ripped out his heart and left it on the table with his goodbye to his brother and his love because the moment The Collector grabs his hand to escort him out of the house, he’s gone. Stiles is gone. The man who had been saved and nursed back to health. The man who had just begun to learn how to love and live again is gone. The man Derek and Isaac loves is gone. All that is left in his stead is the shell of who he was starting to be. His eyes lose focus and his emotions are shut off. He feels nothing because he is nothing. He is The Collector’s once again and it is far easier to suffer at his hands without the pain of emotions and memories than it is with them. So the young fox shuts them all off and becomes something, someone else. To survive.

Stiles has no idea what’s in store for him, what’s going to become of his pitiful life. But he’s sure that he’s never going to live again. That he’s not going to be alive for very long. 

. . .

The moment Derek stands in the driveway of his home he knows something is terribly wrong. The dozens of strange scents and the fact that the front door is wide open, only spark his fear. He runs inside the house, heart thrumming painfully in his chest, adrenaline pumping through his veins.

“Stiles?” He calls, “Stiles!” He screams. But there’s no response. Stiles isn’t in the house and he’s not outside. The stench of fear and panic lead to the kitchen and Derek finds a mug of cold tea and a note on the table. It’s written hastily and in Stiles’s handwriting. After reading the note to Isaac and then to himself, he has tears streaming down him face and he’s in half-shift, ready to tear something to shreds. But instead, he howls in agony. In pure, unadulterated sorrow. He’s lost focus of anything around him as he falls to his knees, completely frozen in misery. He’s not sure how long he’s in that position when the pack bursts through the door, growling and ready for whatever is threatening their Alpha. But when they see Derek kneeling, eyes read and tearful, they feel the same jolt of fear through them that Derek felt. Then Isaac looks around.

“Where’s Stiles. . .” He croaks, denial already clawing at his mind. No, his brother couldn’t be gone. He couldn’t. . .he wouldn’t have left him. He snatches the note out of Derek’s hand and reads it.

 

_ Dear Isaac, _

_ Oh, Izzy. Words can’t describe how I feel right now. I never thought I would have to say goodbye to you but it is absolutely necessary in this moment. I fear I’ve let you down, brother. I made so many promises to you, promises that I now have to break for your own well being. I only hope that you realize how much it tears me apart to leave you. That I in no way wanted to leave you. I love you so much, brother. You were the only light in my life, the only brightness to the endless pain and suffering I endured my entire life. So it is with such a heavy and broken heart that I must leave you. Just promise me, that you will live. Live for the both of us. You deserve so much better than cages and death. You deserve happiness and life and light because that is what you are. I am a danger to you, brother. It is better for me to go now and believe that I will protect you with every breath, fiber and cell of my being. And even though I have broken every single promise I ever made to you, I ask you one last time to trust in this last promise. Please. I promise you, I will find you in the next life and protect you every single day till we meet again. _

_ I love you so much, brother. Please, for me, live. _

_ Forever your brother, _

_ Stiles. _

 

Isaac falls to his knees, clutching at his heart that threatens to explode from the pain. From the abandonment of his brother. From the words Stiles tells him. Isaac cries out and screams and howls for Stiles to come back. He begs and pleads with God to bring his brother back to him. He’s inconsolable and the pack can do nothing but look on at their Alpha and their new pack mate, two completely broken men at the loss of their fox. Derek gingerly takes back the note and re-reads both sides. The note Stiles leaves for him breaks him in the worst way.

 

_ Dear Derek, _

_ Of all the cruelty and pain that had been inflicted on me in my lifetime, this is the worst. The pain of losing a mate will never fade, in fact, it feels at this very moment that I could fall and die from the pain. But, Derek, I am not sorry. I am not sad or bitter that I knew you. In the short time I knew you, I received so much love. I had someone who cared and believed in me. The saying ‘far better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all’ is so true. I am all the better for having loved you. For having known you and your pack. I can honestly say that to my core, I know I love you and I will love you even in death. And I am wholeheartedly sorry for having hurt you. That is the only sadness I feel, that I have hurt you in leaving. And I know that I have no right in asking-begging- that you do this but I will ask anyway. Please take care of Isaac. He needs a family. He needs you. I know you are a good man, a good Alpha, a good wolf. I have only ever been yours. I will only ever be yours. My beautiful, strong wolf. Just as I promised Isaac, I will promise you. In the next life, I will look for you. I will protect you as you have done for me. My wolf, I love you more than my own being. More than. . .I don’t know. I’ve never had anything that means as much to me as you do. Except for maybe Isaac. Be happy, Der, be happy that for once, I knew happiness. And that happiness was you. _

_ With all my soul, _

_ I love you _

_ Stiles _

 

“He’s gone.” Isaac repeated, “He’s left me. He promised-he-”

The young wolf chokes on his own sadness and cries. Allison approaches him slowly and takes the wolf in her arms. 

“He’s gone.” Isaac whimpered. 

“Derek, someone was in the house. A lot of someones.” Aiden said, sniffing the air.

“It smells like fear.” Ethan observed. 

“I don’t think Stiles went willingly. At least, not entirely.” Boyd speculated.

“Derek, what are we going to do?” Erica asked hesitantly, “I know you’re hurting, but Stiles wouldn’t just leave. Not without Isaac. Something had to have happened to  him. He might need our help.”

Derek knows he should pull him together, the pack needs him. Stiles needs him. But he’s so shell shocked. He feels like his soul is bleeding. But they’re right, he has to get up. He needs to figure this out. He has to help his mate. He has to find his fox.

“You’re right, darling. Stiles is very much in need of our help.” Peter stands in the doorway looking grim. An expression that sends ice into Derek’s heart because he’s never seen his uncle so serious. 

“What do you know, Peter?” Derek asked, slowly coming back to himself.

“Your fox was taken a few hours ago. The Collector and his goons took him. Made a deal, he goes quietly in exchange for letting all of you live.” Peter informs them.

“And how do you know all this?” Erica asked, her claws starting to extend with the thought that Peter was the one to expose Stiles and their home. But Peter, who seems to know exactly what she’s thinking, reaches behind him and tosses a dead body at Derek’s floor. He’s built and much larger than Peter dressed in fairly heavy armor. 

“He’s been tailing me all day. It wasn’t all too difficult catching him by surprise. He wasn’t all that stealthy.” Peter tells them, “I got all the information from him. The Collector had his goons following each one of us all day today. When he went to see Stiles, he told him that knowing Stiles would go with him to save all of us.”

“That self-sacrificial idiot.” Erica growled, “What do we do now? We can’t just let him go.” 

“We’re most definitely not going to let him go.” Derek growls, “Stiles thinks he’s going to die soon, being with that bastard. The only way to save Stiles now is to kill every single one of his goons and put an end to this.” 

“But how, Derek, we’re still no match for them. Not all of them at least. Not to mention, we’re sorely outnumbered.” Lydia points out.

“I can call Deucalion. Him and his pack will help.” Derek says, pulling out his phone.

“You know he’s going to ask for a favor in return.” Ethan says.

“I know. But I can’t let him go. Stiles needs us.” Derek says firmly, “Erica, I need you to call Deaton and ask him to rally as much backup as he can get.”

“We don’t even know where he is, Derek. It’s been hours, they could be anywhere by now.” Erica said dejectedly.

“Actually, they’re not too far. Just outside of the preserve they’re waiting on transport. The man thinks he’s won. He’s in no hurry to get somewhere.” Peter tells them.

“Cocky prick.” Boyd snarls, “So what do we do? Chase after him? Get all of us killed?” 

“Of course not.” Allison says, “I’m a hunter. Give me five minutes and we’ll have an army.” Her tone is so strong, so authoritative that the entire pack does a double take. They’re always taken back whenever their friend, the sweetest girl you’ll ever meet, reveals herself to be the strong, levelheaded leader she is.

“We have the other pack’s support and now we have hunters. They won’t stand a chance.” Ethan says with a grin, his eyes flashing blue for a moment.

“We have to get him back-we can’t leave him-” Isaac says, brokenly. He’s still on his knees, tears still streaming down his face.

“We’re not going to leave him with that monster, Isaac-” Derek tries to assure him.

“No, you don’t understand-you don’t. . .” Isaac sobs, “Stiles  _ feels  _ dead. He’s lost hope. He’s not okay he’s dying.”

“The Collector isn’t going to kill him, Isaac.” Peter says.

“You don’t understand,” Isaac growls, “He’s already dead. A living  _ dead _ man. We c-can’t leave him there. Not again. He’ll be lost. Forever.”

“Isaac, we’re not leaving him. I promise you, we’re going to get him back.” Derek says firmly, “Allison, call your father. Inform him of the situation and get your team together. All the men you can get will help. Peter, I need you to do some recon, figure out what we’re walking into. The rest of you I want in pairs patrolling the perimeter of the house. No one we don’t know is getting into this house.”

Everyone gives their Alpha a tight nod and did as instructed. Derek is still unbearably torn to pieces but the need to find his mate, take him back and heal him is overriding all other impulses. He will get Stiles back if it’s the last thing he ever does.

Isaac is the last to get with the program. Though he wishes more than anything that he could just bounce back and do something, anything to help the pack, he’s stuck in his own flashbacks. Now he’s swimming in memories of that place. Of antiseptic and pain. Cages and needles. He’s struggling to pull himself together. He needs to be strong, he needs to be the vicious weapon that they made him into because he needs to find Stiles. They vowed to protect each other and Isaac is going to die to keep that promise. He can’t be stuck in a panic the moment he comes face to face with his lifelong tormentor. He has to be strong, because Stiles was always strong.

Nearly thirty minutes later, hunters are filing into the backyard, one by one led by Chris Argent. And Deucalion is standing with the strongest members of his pack. All together there are close to forty people in the Hale’s backyard, waiting instructions from Derek. The Alpha can’t deny the swell of pride and power at the support they’ve assembled, and now he’s here to lead them.

“These people are killers. They’re mercenaries, rogue hunters, murderers. And they’ve been allowed to roam free to wreak havoc for too long. They give hunters a bad name and destroy all that you stand for. They’ve broken the code and for that, they need to be punished. For the countless pups, women, men, and  _ families  _ that they’ve slaughtered in the most horrific ways possible, they will be punished. Here and now. The Collector believes he’s God. His actions have only proven to me and to anyone who’s ever come into contact with him that he’s extremely dangerous, neurotic and must be brought to justice for what he’s done. We need all of you with us on this.” Derek says loudly to everyone in the yard. The large assortment of hunters gives him a harsh nod, their faces set in harsh expressions and bodies heavily laden with armor and weapons. 

“We’re with you, Derek.” Argent says, giving the Alpha a terse nod, “We know all about The Collector and believe me, we’ve been waiting a long time to find him and get our hands on him.”

“You bet your ass we’re with you, Hale. This monster needs to be put down.” Deucalion growls, his pack nod in agreement. They look just as pissed off as their Alpha. Peter comes through the trees just then, panting and fighting to get his breath back.

“Peter, how’s it looking?” Derek asks.

“They’re ten miles into the preserve by the interstate. There’s about twenty mercs, armed to the teeth. The Collector has Stiles in a cage. They’re waiting on one more party of five to return, apparently caught wind of another shifter, a high schooler they’re tracking. They’re going to kidnap him. The transport is already there and once those five return they’re headed for the border. Once they cross into Mexico we’ll never see them again.” Peter says loud enough for them all the hear.

“We won’t let them leave the territory.” Derek growls, “We leave right now. They’re heavily armed but now with all of you, we’re evenly matched. Let’s go.” Chris nods and the hunters all run back to their vehicles and head out to the location Peter spoke of, Deucalion and his pack set off in the same direction.

“Nephew, Stiles is pretty banged up. It looks as if he isn’t healing, either. Most likely, they’ve given him a drug. But it looks like The Collector’s already had some. . .alone time with Stiles.” Peter informs Derek with a serious expression. 

The idea of Stiles being touched by that man, injured by him sets his teeth on edge and he’s already wolfed out, growling and threateningly angry.

“I’ll kill him.” Derek snarls, sprinting towards his mate with his pack hot on his heels. There are howls in the air and the feeling of war in their veins. Derek almost feels the Earth thrumming with their footsteps, as if mother Earth is on their side and vying for their victory. The Alpha swears he’ll make them pay. He’ll save his mate and by God, he’ll slaughter every last one of them to do it.


	8. Capsized

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry. . .

“The plans I have for you. . .” The Collector says wistfully, “Should I tell you now? It’ll ruin the surprise but I’m not sure I can keep this quiet for long.”

Stiles wheezes, struggling to breathe. He’s been shoved in a cage after his reunion with his Master. The poor fox is struggling to stay conscious, knowing that once he’s out, worse things are going to happen. The Collector’s been monologuing for close to twenty minutes now, bragging about his genius, about this plan that he has yet to share with Stiles. He’s dangling it over Stiles’s head like a carrot on a string. However, after a few hours of painful beatings that are terribly reminescent of his childhood, some monologuing is a welcome distraction.

“I can’t keep secrets from you,” He grins at Stiles, “Now I know with the loss of your first kit, such a shame, really. She was truly beautiful despite being part wolf. But you see, I’ve struck gold. I’ve been exceedingly lucky these last few days. Not only did I find my favorite fox, but I found another.”

That peaks Stiles’s interest. The Collector has found another fox, which is extremely rare. And in the same area that Stiles had been found? What are the chances? A sinking feeling in his belly makes him cringe. Stiles knows that this can’t be good. Not at all.

“I can’t tell you how excited I am to finally breed you. Could you imagine? Pure blooded kits?” The Collector laughs joyously, “I feel like a kid on Christmas.”

“Sir, they’re about five minutes out.” A goon informed The Collector. 

“Fantastic! Put the foxes together. Might as well get them acquainted. They’ll be spending a lot of time together.” He leered.

So this is the plan. They’re going to breed him, force him to carry this unknown fox’s litter. God only knows what’s going to happen to Stiles’s kits. The idea of having another pup only to lose it breaks his heart. He knows that it would surely kill him, having to give up his babies again. No doubt The Collector would force him to have as many kits as possible. There’s a lot of money in selling off fox’s to the highest bidder. And they bid high. Stiles wants to fight. He wants to scream and bite and flee as fast as he can but he knows that it will only sign the pack’s death sentence. Isaac. The thought of his brother makes Stiles whine in pain and such utter sorrow that it startles even him. He could imagine Isaac’s face, his tears and his hatred for Stiles. The fox knows that Isaac would think he abandoned him. That he’s left on his own. But if he’s safe, Stiles will accept his hatred.

And Derek. He knows that Derek will be devastated. He’ll be broken and sad, but in the end, he’ll let Stiles go. And that’s what hurts the fox the most. The knowledge that Derek is going to let him go, and he’ll find someone else. 

When the new fox arrives, Stiles is disgusted that they’ve taken a child. He’s so young, no more than sixteen. This young boy is utterly terrified and reeks of pain. They toss him in the cage with Stiles and lock the door again. Stiles doesn’t know what to do, the kid is freaking out. He’s hyperventilating, scrambling around the cage, shouting at them.

“You need to calm down.” Stiles barks at him, “They’re not listening to you and if you keep shouting they’re going to get annoyed and hurt you even more.”

“Who are you?” The kid asks.

“Just another fox, like yourself.” He sighs.

“Why don’t you help me try to escape?” The kid questions angrily.

“There is no escape and if you care about keeping your body in one piece, you’ll calm down and shut up.” Stiles growls.

“Easy for you to say, you’re already busted to shit.” The kid sneers, “How long have you been their pet anyway?”

“I’ve been their prisoner all my life, and you’ll do well to listen to me if you want to make it more than ten days.” Stiles says bluntly. The boy sits down, huffing and puffing, trying to get back to normal breathing. 

“Why do they want me anyways?” The kid asks.

“They want you for breeding.” Stiles says.

“Breeding? As in they want me to have sex with someone?” He squeaks.

“I doubt it. They’ll probably be artificially inseminating me.” Stiles grunts. 

“You? But you’re a-”

“Obviously. You don’t know shit, kid. The crap they do, the experiments, the beatings. Which is why it’s important that you listen to me.” Stiles tells him.

“Don’t you have friends? A family that will miss you? How can you sit and take this shit from them?” The boy growls.

“I had to leave my family so they wouldn’t kill them. I can sit here and take it if it means my family will be safe.” 

They sit in silence for a few minutes before the engines roar to life. The Collector jumps into the SUV in front of them, smiling. Stiles is just waiting for the doors to the van where they’re cages are closed. Once they close, he knows that’s the end. And when a man clad in black armor shuts them, he feels like his entire being has been set on fire. But then he hears it. Footsteps and quiet growling, trucks and ATVs. Then he smells it. Werewolves and humans, the pack. And his heart thrummed painfully in his chest. They’re not supposed to be here. They’re supposed to be at home, safe. Then he hears the shouting. The Collector barking orders at his mercenaries. Stiles wishes he could see what’s happening but all he can do now is listen.

“Argent! How may I be of assistance?” The Collector asks, feigning innocence.

“What you’re doing is illegal. And against the code, Collector. We’re here to bring you in.” This man, Argent, speaks. 

“I don’t know what you mean, Chris. But I strongly suggest that you and your hunters get out of my way. I have places to be, people to see. You understand?” 

“You’re not going anywhere. Except to see The Council for judgement.” Argent says calmly.

“That won’t do, now I would hate to have to kill all of you but I will if you stand in my way.” The Collector argues, “You’re outnumbered and outmatched.” 

“Now see, that’s where you’re wrong.” Argent says. There’s a chorus of growls from everywhere, they are completely surrounded by werewolves.

“I warned you, Chris.” The Collector sighs. There’s a moment of deafening silence before an unleashing of ammunition. The young fox beside Stiles begins to freak out again. He cowers in the corner opposite Stiles and tries to control his breathing. Stiles, however, is injured and despite his desperate wanting to get up and try to find a way out, he can’t. The tight collar around his neck is painful and it keeps him tethered to the cage. There are shouts and screams, bullets everywhere and Stiles is stuck in a cage, listening to it all.

It takes several minutes for someone to rip open the doors and Stiles can see the carnage outside. There are bodies on the ground, flashes of light from the guns, the smell of blood in the air. But his eyes focus on Isaac, who ripped open the door, who is wolfed out and growling. Stiles has never been happier and sadder to see him.

“Brother,” one word, one word is all it takes for tears to spill and for Stiles to cry out in relief for the wolf who still considers him brother after leaving with only a note to say goodbye, “I’m going to get you out of here, Stiles I promise.”

The fox can only nod for fear of letting out a loud sob that has been building in his chest. And when he sees Derek tear through one of The Collector’s mercenaries, he feels like his soul is threatening to leave his body to go to his wolf. Derek runs towards the cage and helps Isaac pry the metal off its hinges, opening the cage. The young fox cries out in fear and tries to hide himself in the corner of the cage.

“Stiles.” Derek rushes to him, snapping the chains of his collar and severing the ties to the cage. He uses his claws to slice through the rope around his wrists and ankles, freeing him from the painful bindings. The wolf’s hands cup Stiles’s face gently and brush away the tears, “We’re not letting you go.”

Stiles gives a weak nod and struggles to fight back the tears as his wolf lifts him gently, mindful of his many injuries, and carries him outside of the cage.

“Wait-” Stiles motions to the other fox, “We can’t leave him there.” 

“Come on, kid. Trust me, you don’t want to stay there.” Isaac says to the boy, motioning for him to climb out, “We’re not here to hurt you, we just want you to get back to your family.”

The kid reluctantly climbs out of the cage, still terrified out of his mind. But Stiles isn’t paying attention. He’s too busy trying to breathe and fight off the impending panic attack. But Derek holds him tight, scenting him and taking away his pain. It’s like the world has fallen away, there’s only Derek and Stiles, together again and the fox is daring to hope, daring to fight again.

“No!” There’s an inhuman scream from somewhere in the battlefield and a single gunshot. Stiles knows immediately what it is, what it means. And using his last bit of strength, he wrenches Derek’s shoulder around, forcing the wolf to turn around and before Derek can stop his movement, the bullet pierces Stiles’s chest. Stiles knows that he should be in immeasurable pain, he should feel the bullet inside of him, he should feel something. But he doesn’t. He’s completely numb to the bullet inside him.

“No,” Derek croaks, “No, no no. . .Stiles!” 

He’s fallen to his knees, laying me gently on the grass. His hand flies to the bleeding wound just below his mate’s collarbone. Isaac rushes to his side, tears streaming down his face. As the fight rages around him, the pack stops for a moment, looking over at their distraught Alpha to see Stiles on the ground, bleeding. A surge of anger and power hit the wolves fighting against the Collector and his hired killers and they unleash hell. They tackle the last remaining mercenaries to the ground, slit their throats and bathe the ground in their blood. Not one of his men survives and Argent doesn’t argue or dispute the killing. The wolves are more than happy to impart their own justice on them. Chris Argent approaches The Collector and disarms him. 

“No!” He shrieks, “Look what you’ve done!” 

He fights with everything he has in him, struggling against the hold of Argent’s hunters. The man shrieks and threatens, spits and bites. But the focus is no longer on The Collector, who is now being hauled off to face judgement. The focus is now on Stiles, the fox that’s bleeding out in Derek’s arms, unable to heal.

“Oh God, Stiles.” Derek whimpers, “We need to get him back to Deaton.”

“He won’t make it, Derek.” Argent rushes towards the pair with a large medkit in his hands, “Give me some space.” 

Derek shuffled to hold Stiles’s head in his lap, still putting pressure on the bullet wound as Argent situates himself on Stiles’s side and gets to work on trying to save the fox. Isaac holds Stiles’s hand tightly in his own.

“Izzy,” Stiles gasps out, “‘m sorry.”

“Don’t speak right now, brother.” Isaac whispers to him. 

“I love you so much.” Stiles grunts, “Brother.”

“I know, Stiles.” Isaac whimpers, “I love you too. You’re going to make it through this, Stiles. You’re not going to die. Not here, not today.”

“Der,” Stiles coughs, blood starts to gurgle in his lungs, “‘love you. ‘M sorry D-der-”

“The bullet nicked his left lung. He’s going to bleed out.” Argent tells them sadly, “I’m sorry, there isn’t time.”

“N-no. No! Stiles you promised me. You promised! Live together, die together! Today isn’t that day.” Isaac shouts. 

“Stiles, you can’t leave us. Not after we just found you.” Derek whimpered, “I just found you. Please, please don’t leave me. Fight, Stiles you have to fight.”

“‘O tired, Der.” He gasped and coughed. Blood spilled over his lip and he’s pale as a ghost, “Love you. All of you.”

“Stiles!” Isaac cries, “Don’t close your eyes. . .don’t please! Stay with me, brother.”

Stiles wants more than anything to stay awake, to stay with his brother and mate. He doesn’t want to die. He wants to live, to have a family, to be free. But he knows he’s not making it out of this one. He feels the blood beginning to fill his lungs, beginning to cut off his breathing. He can feel himself dying and he can see the end of the tunnel. To Stiles, this is the most cruel act the universe has ever committed against him. To give him love and life for only a brief time before stealing it all away. But he can’t deny that he isn’t grateful for even the short time he’s had at life. To truly live. He’s happy that the last thing he sees is his mate and his brother. He takes his last breath and the light in his eyes is snuffed out. There’s a collective whimper from the pack, but Isaac and Derek are holding their breath, somehow expecting, hoping, that Stiles would blink. That he would take another breath. But he doesn’t. His body is completely lifeless and still. His golden brown eyes, once so alight with fire and life, now empty and hollow.  

“Stiles,” Derek commands weakly, “Please. . .”

“Der. . .” Erica cries, “He’s gone, Derek.”

“Stiles.” Isaac whispers, “Come on, breathe.” He shakes him violently. Screaming at him to breathe, “Die together, you said. . .”

Isaac let out a wail of such utter sadness, he falls on Stiles’s chest, crying, clutching onto his brother, begging him to come back. Derek runs his fingers through his mate’s hair, feeling the brokenness in his heart at the death of his mate. The pit in his stomach feels like it’s going to break him.

“Derek!” Deaton shouts in the distance, “Step away from the body!” 

Derek grabbed at him tighter, refusing to let go of his mate. Even in death, Derek feels as though he could follow his mate. His body feels as though it is giving up. But Deaton crouches beside him, pleading.

“Derek, you need to let go of the body. Right now.” He says sternly.

“Go to hell.” Derek growls through his tears.

“Derek, we have a chance to save him, but only if you step away from his body and listen to me.” Deaton insists. 

Without giving it a second thought, Derek manages to scramble a few feet away from his mate despite the horrible pain in his chest. Isaac follows suit and clings to Derek. He knows that it’s Stiles he really wants to hold but for the moment, his mate can substitute. The pack gather around the two wolves, offering support amongst one another. They watch Deaton work his magic over Stiles’s body. They hope that this isn’t the end for Stiles, that somehow Deaton can save him. Deaton has to save him because the death of this fox will surely be the death of their Alpha. Derek wishes with every fiber of his being, bargaining with any and all of the gods in the universe that they bring him back. That his mate will not be lost to him. Derek swears that after the life both him and his mate had, the universe definitely owes him a favor. 

Deaton utters words in some unknown language and the reaction is almost instant. The Earth begins to shake and the wind picks up. All of the nature around them reacts to Deaton’s actions and they watch, terrified, as the Earth splits open and swallows Stiles whole. When the Earth creaks to a close, Derek is struck with panic.

“Where is he?” The Alpha demands from the druid, “Where the hell is he!”

“Relax, Derek. He’s been taken to the nemeton. From there, both he and the spirits decide if he comes back or not. Until then, we’re just going to have to wait.” Deaton tells them.

“That’s it?” Isaac croaks, “We just wait for the tree to spit him back out and hope that he’s alive!” 

“Basically, yes.” The druid sighs, “Stiles did something extremely powerful the moment he sacrificed himself for Derek. He opened a channel to the tree, dying for the Alpha of this land, the guardian of the nemeton. Sacrifices are always rewarded.”

“And if he’s still dead when the tree gives him back?” Derek demands.

“Then Stiles didn’t want to come back.” Deaton says sadly, “You’re all grieving. I suggest that you put a guard by the tree until Stiles emerges once more. But you all have been through a lot today, go home and rest. Balance will be restored sooner than you think.”

In true Deaton fashion, he departs after cryptically offering a solution. The pack remains where they are, in the silence, painfully aware of the sadness in their hearts as they stare at the spot where Stiles once occupied. Deucalion and his pack are long gone, long forgotten as are the hunters who are currently dealing with The Collector. But Derek and his pack don’t care. They’re still coming to terms with what’s just happened.

“Derek, you heard what he said, we have to be there when Stiles comes back.” Lydia says, snapping out of her daze. She shakes Derek’s shoulder gently, making him aware of the matter at hand.

“I’ll wait by the nemeton. I want all of you home. Shower, pack what you want to come and stay with me tonight if you want to stay by the nemeton. If not, make use of the spare rooms.” Derek says numbly. He gets up and walks almost robotically in the direction of the nemeton, Isaac follows closely behind him. 

They walk in silence and hardly acknowledge each other. When they reach the magical tree, they fall to their knees, side by side. Waiting for their fox.

“Stiles, if you’re out there and you can hear me. . .It doesn’t matter where you are, I swear I’ll hold you again. I swear I’ll hear your voice again, touch you again, you’ll be mine again. It doesn’t feel right, living without you. Please. . .please don’t leave me here alone.” Derek says, staring up at the stars. Isaac listens to Derek’s cries, to his heartfelt words for his fallen brother and feels a deep swell of love for the Alpha. For his brother’s mate. The only person on Earth that feels exactly how he feels. And in that moment, they’re both screaming out to the stars that the universe hears them and gives their fox back to them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> don't freak out yet!!!!!  
> I love reading all your comments so keep letting me know what you think!


	9. Existential

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I cried while writing this. . .just hold on tight.

It’s so unbearably bright. Brighter than the sun on the warmest of days. Where am I? How long have I been here? I feel like I’m floating and walking at the same time, clouds at my feet and a wide expanse of empty space all around me. There’s nothing out here. Nothing but the brightness and the clouds for miles. I can’t hear anything or smell anything. Because there’s nothing. 

“Where the hell am I?” I asked out loud, startling myself with my own voice. 

“Quite the opposite, actually.” I whipped around, ready to defend myself from whoever the voice came from. But there’s only a woman and a man who look. . .oh my God.

“I’m dead, aren’t I?” I whisper, “I have to be dead to see. . .”

“Son,” My father grins at me and suddenly I’m not breathing, “You’re all grown up.”

“So handsome. . .” My mother cries, her tears falling down her face.

“Mom,” My voice cracks almost painfully, “I’ve missed you so much.”

And then the dam breaks. We rush at each other and I have my mother in my arms. She’s much smaller than I remember. I tower over her by several inches and she feels so petite in my arms. My dad envelops the two of us in his embrace, easily taking the two of us into him. And there’s so much warmth. There’s so much love and I’m weeping. I had almost forgotten what my father and mother look like. My dad’s crystal blue eyes, my mom’s long chestnut brown hair. Her smell. . .

“I l-love you so much.” I whimpered to them.

“We love you too son. We’re so proud of you, how you’ve grown.” His dad grunts, thick with emotion.

“My baby.” Mom cries into my chest, “I’m so sorry, Mieczyslaw.”

The use of my first name is a punch to the gut. I haven’t been called that since I was little, and even then only my parents called me that. None of the doctors and guards at the lab could pronounce it so everyone just called me Stiles. To be honest, my first name had been forgotten by almost everyone. Even myself.

“It’s okay, mom.” I say breathlessly, “I’m here, I’m with you and dad.”

“Oh son, we’re so blessed to have seen you, but it’s not your time.” Dad says to me. And just like that, the happy feeling in my stomach settles like lead.

“What?” I ask, “I’ve literally had the worst life possible, now I’m here with you, with my family and you want to send me away again?” 

“Oh baby, no. We love you so much, but so does your mate. And your brother, and your pack. Baby you belong with them. You deserve a chance at life.” Mom cries, caressing my cheek.

“You’ve been dealt a shitty hand your entire life. But now you have a chance to live free from captivity. You have the chance for love.” Dad squeezes us gently.

“Derek will find someone else and I’ll watch over Isaac and everyone from here. I’m just. . .I’m so tired.” I sighed.

“I know you’re tired baby, but they need you.” Mom whispers to me, “If you could see them now, you would see just how much you mean to them.”

“You’ll see us again, son. We’ll be here when it is your time.” Dad assures me, “Very few people are given a second chance, Stiles. Don’t waste this one.”

“It’s so painful.” I confess, “It hurts so much to be alive.”

“But you’ll heal, baby boy. Your mate, your brother, your pack. . .they’ll all help.” Mom says earnestly.

“Don’t let the fear of being in pain keep you from finding something better, something amazing.” Dad says, “If we can’t convince you, there is one more person who will.”

I don’t know who else would be up here that I know and love as much as. . .

Oh my God.

Oh my. . .

She’s so  _ beautiful.  _

Surrounded in white light and wrapped in as corny as it sounds, she’s wrapped in white. She looks like an angel. She’s only a few years old, not older than four, and I only saw her once but I’d know those eyes anywhere. That’s my baby. My kit. Her hair is dark, a trait she must have gotten from her other father, but her eyes. They’re just like mine, big brown doe eyes. And her smile. . .

“Daddy.” She says to me like she’s known me her entire life.

“Oh my God. . .” I whispered, feeling the tears stream down my face. She ran at me and jumped into my arms. She feels so real, her warm little body in my arms. She’s so small and so utterly beautiful.

“Don’t cry, daddy.” She tells me, wiping away my tears. 

“Oh, my baby. My baby.” I cry, “I’m so sorry, I should have fought harder, I should have done something. Anything.” 

“It’s okay, daddy.” She tells me, her little hands squish my cheeks together, “I know you love me.” Her little voice sounds so much older than she is, her voice so sweet.

“You’re so beautiful.” I whispered, “I wanted to name you Claudia. Just like your grandmother.” 

“Now you can, daddy.” She said giving me a gentle kiss, “I watch you sometimes. With babcia and Ja-jo.” My parents smile fondly at the little girl in my arms, “You were hurt a lot, daddy. I don’t like seeing you hurt. But then you and Izzy got out!” She grins widely, “You found Der! You could be happy daddy, so so so happy and you could have babies! I could have baby brothers and sisters and you could be so happy.” she rambles happily bouncing in my arms. I can’t help but grin at my baby.

“You really want me to go back, baby? I just got to see you, hold you. . .” I told her.

“You can hold me again, daddy. When you’re ready.”

“You deserved to live. You should have lived.” I start tearing up again.

“It was my time to go, daddy. But it isn’t your time now.” She tells me gently.

“I don’t want to leave you,” I look to my parents, “Any of you.”

“We know, son. But you need to go back. You’ll see us again and when you do, we’ll be together for eternity.” Dad tells me, smiling at me with tears in his eyes.

“Daddy,” My little girl grabs my chin in her little hand, pulling me to look at her, “Go back, daddy.”

She’s breaking my heart. I want nothing more than to take her with me but I know I can’t. I want to take all of them with me. 

“I don’t know how.” I whisper.

“The nemeton is calling you back, listen to the part of you that is connected to the Earth, to nature and follow it back like bread crumbs. Back to your body. Back to life.” Mom tells me, giving me a sad smile.

“I love you so much.” I tell my daughter, hugging her tightly, “I love you, my beautiful girl.”

“I love you too, daddy.” She giggles and it’s the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard.

“Mom, dad. . .” I say at a loss for words.

“We know, son. We love you too.” Dad says, “We’ll be here, waiting for you, watching over you together. Your mate is waiting for you.”

“We’ll be together again one day, daddy.” My little girl tells me, “Go back, daddy, go back.” 

I hug her tightly again and kiss her forehead, committing her face and her warmth to memory.  My heart hurts so badly when I settle her into my father’s arms and hug my mother. My dad gives me one last hug and then I feel the pull, the tingling sensation in my soul, pulling me away from them. I want to stay with my family and never let go of my kit, but then I’m somewhere, lost in the middle of Earth, the corporeal world and heaven, the warmth and intangible realm. I’m lost in the sky, starts floating around me. Is this limbo? My body is in itself intangible, like a floating soul in a never ending sky. And I feel like nothing. I feel like space, like I myself am part of the sky. My very own being bleeds into the stars around me. And then I’m falling again, falling back into reality, into the corporeal world. I see my body. Laying on the stump of the nemeton. And for the first time, I’m looking at my body from the outside, observing my injuries and my flaws and the undeniable beauty that is the human body, my human body. The body that has been beaten, bruised, modified and abused. The body that has held a child, held my mate, held my brother. The body that has felt love and loss and pain. 

I hear snoring from a few feet away from the nemeton. In a pile on the grass is the pack. My mate and brother in the middle of the large puppy pile. They’re all holding on to one another for comfort, their faces tear stained and puffy. They’re refusing to leave me alone even for a minute. My mate, though squished in the puppy pile, he has one arm wrapped around Isaac and his other hand outstretched towards me. Isaac is squished against Derek’s chest, his head on his shoulder, wet stains show on Derek’s shit from Isaac’s tears. The overwhelming sense of love and hope from them makes my joints hurt. And I know what my family were talking about. My brother, my mate. . .I can’t leave them. Not yet. And even though I want more than anything to be with my parents and my daughter, I can’t forfeit my mate and my brother, my future with the pack.

In a flash of light, I’m being pulled back into my body. A burning sensation in my limbs as my soul is stuffed back into my body and my wounds are healed, I am enveloped in such a warm embrace by the magic of the nemeton. I’m not sure how long it takes, how long I am in this warmth, how long I was gone, but now I’m being settled back onto the stump, and I’m awash in darkness once more.

 

. . .

The pack had laid by the nemeton for three days. Three days of returning to the house in shifts for food, showers and personal business. Derek and Isaac had been convinced to leave the tree for short periods of time, always returning quickly. They waited by Stiles’s body, hating to look at it but unable to leave. The pack work together to keep them all functioning during this time, but just barely. Everyone is barely keeping it together while they wait for their pack mate to awaken. 

Derek waits by his mate, faithfully waiting for his love. Hoping that they will meet again. The darkness in his heart slowly takes over by the third day and hopelessness sets in. He feels like he’s dying, which he probably is. Just barely escaping death without his mate. And Isaac, Isaac hasn’t spoken in three days. He hasn’t spoken since the death of his brother. Alisson just barely getting him to eat and keep up his strength. 

It’s the third night, getting late and the stars shine brightly tonight. It’s a cruel joke to Derek. That the night seem so serene and happy despite the tragedy before them. And the pack is gathered together, sleeping in one large puppy pile. The exhaustion that each of them feels, keeps them from consciousness. Derek falls asleep that night, just like the last two nights, with Isaac clutching him. It’s the only way he seems to sleep without dreaming horrible nightmares, replaying Stiles’s death over and over again with the same outcome. But there’s something different in the air tonight that Derek feels in his bones. When he falls asleep, he barely registers the shift in the breeze.

They’re deeply asleep when it happens. It’s like a flashbang goes off. There’s a loud bang like something breaking the sound barrier, the crisp smell of burning ozone and a bright light like the sun blinds us. Derek feels a deep burning rejuvenance of hope burning in his chest. 

“Stiles. . .” He whispers in disbelief as his mate’s body is swallowed whole by the light. For a few minutes, there is nothing but light and the wolves have to shield their eyes from the light. And it all ends with a ringing in their ears as a newly healed Stiles is place back on the trunk of the nemeton. 

“Stiles!” Isaac shouts, the first word in three days. The entire pack flinches but rush to the fox’s side. Derek is the first to reach him, pulling him into his arms and stroking his cheek gently.

“Baby, wake up.” Derek pleads, fresh tears burning in his eyes. The fox struggles to find his mate’s voice in the voice and he feels his heart stutter slightly. His eyes flicker open slowly and focus on his mate’s face. And tears stream down Stiles’s face.

“I saw her, Derek.” Stiles whimpered, “She was so beautiful.”

“Who, Stiles?” Derek questions.

“My baby.” Stiles sobs, “I saw my family.”

“Oh Stiles. . .” Derek pulls him into a tight hug, pressing his body against his mate, “I thought I lost you.”

“I almost was.” Stiles whimpered, “But you guys need me too much.” There’s a broken chuckle from the pack.

“Don’t ever jump in front of a bullet for me.” Derek commands weakly.

“I’ll always jump in front of bullets for you.” Stiles laughs.

“Stiles. . .” Isaac whimpered, taking on of his hands in his, “Brother-”

“I’m not leaving you Isaac.” Stiles gives him a smile, “You were right, it wasn’t my time.” 

“You saw her?” He asked tearfully. Stiles nodded.

“She was beautiful.” Stiles choked, “She had my eyes.”

Derek felt a swell of sadness for his mate, for his daughter that he never got to know. Stiles settled heavily against my chest, still weak from the entire ordeal. 

“Let’s go home.” Derek says, finally pulling himself together, “Let’s go home.” He repeats at a loss for anything else to say.

The rest of the pack nod and shuffle behind Derek, who picks Stiles up into his arms and carries his mate home where he belongs. Derek is still in shock that Stiles is alive and in his arms. That they’re on their way back home. That his future is right there in his arms. Stiles closes his eyes for a moment.

“Don’t close your eyes,” Derek’s voice shakes, “Please.” His eyes snap open at Derek’s plead.

“Der, I love you.” Stiles whispered to him.

“I love you too, Stiles. So much.” Derek replied, a small smile on his lips.

“Claudia wants siblings.” Stiles chuckled, “My daughter.” 

“Is that what you want too?” Derek asks hopefully.

“I want everything with you.” Stiles says honestly, “I want a home, a family, a life. And as many pups as you’ll give me.”

Derek’s heart feels like it might explode with love for the fox in his arms. Derek wants all of that with his mate, he wants every single day, every single day to be spent loving and holding his mate. When they get home, Derek instructs the pack to set up the pack room  while Derek gets Stiles clean and into his shift. Derek heads to his room and lays him on the bed, silently asking permission to strip him of his clothes. Stiles gives a gentle nod.

Both their hearts speed just a little at their close proximity and Derek’s gentle hands slowly work off Stiles’s clothes. Stiles lays still, sleepily watching his mate work. Derek’s fingers ghost gently over his skin, over the scars, straight to where Stiles had been shot. There was nothing there, the one patch of skin with no scar. 

“It’s like you were never shot. Like you never d-d-” Derek can’t even say it.

“I almost didn’t come back.” Stiles whispered, “I didn’t want to.”

“Don’t say that. . .” Derek croaked, “I don’t know what I would do if you didn’t come back.”

“Der. . .”

“No, Stiles. You have no idea what you mean to me. You’re everything. When I found you, it felt like I had finally found my way out of darkness. Every day that we came closer together it felt like a part of myself was finally coming together.” He sniffles loudly trying to keep in his tears, “When you were shot, I felt it so deeply as if I had been shot instead. And when y-you took your last breath. . .”

“I’m alive, Derek.” Stiles whispered to him consolingly. 

“Stiles, I can’t be without you. For three day I-”

“I was gone for three days?” Stiles asked loudly.

“Yeah, worst three days of my life.” Derek chuckled weakly, “I never want to be without you, Stiles. I promise you that for the rest of our lives, we’ll be happy. I’ll make it my job to make sure you never have a day that’s gray.”

“Derek, I love you so much.” Stiles whispered.

Derek leaned down and kissed Stiles so gently, and it sent fireworks down his spine. When they parted, Derek finished getting his mate undressed and let him shift, pale skin giving way to red fur. Derek loves seeing his mate in this form. When he joins his mate in the shift, he can tell that Stiles is still really weak. So as gently as he can, he grips his mate by the nape of his neck in his canines and carries him downstairs to the pack room. The rest of the pack is shifted except for Allison, Kira, and Lydia. They’re all curled together, a mess of fur and limbs. Isaac perks up when he sees Stiles and Derek enter the room, he’s just as exhausted as Stiles.

“ _ Brother,”  _ Isaac whimpers, curling himself around Stiles so that the fox is in a werewolf sandwich, “ _ Don’t ever pull a stunt like that again.”  _ he growls.

“ _ Believe me, I won’t,”  _ Stiles chirps back in amusement, “ _ I’m sorry I hurt you, Izzy.” _

_ “It’s okay, brother. I’m just happy that you’re here, with me, and with the pack.”  _ Isaac nuzzles his brother.

“ _ I promise I’m never leaving you again.”  _ Stiles tells him, “ _ I’ll never leave any of you, ever again.”  _


	10. Fin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, Y'all. Hold on for the last chapter. See notes at end please!

It took two and a half years. It took two and a half years for Stiles to settle into pack life. It took him all that time to learn how to be alright again. It was slow going for a long time, but the pack supported him. They all understood that Stiles wouldn’t be the same. How could they expect him to be? He had died, passed through this world into the next, met his family and daughter only to leave them once again and return to the living. No one expected him to bounce back right away. Stiles had asked Derek for a place to bury his family, despite not having their bodies, he felt that laying them to rest and giving them a place for him to go and mourn would be best. He had cried every night after he came back. He cried for his mother and father, for his daughter. He cried because he felt like a burden to everyone. Because he was damaged to the point that he felt he was beyond repair. But the whole pack, especially Isaac and Derek came together to quickly assure him that he was in no way a burden to them. 

Eventually, Stiles began to believe them. He grew to be more tactile, to crave their touch and know the feeling of familial love. He learned what it was like to be in a pack. It took two years for Derek and Stiles to come together and finally mate. Stiles was afraid he would never be ready, but when he witnessed his mate cooing to Erica and Boyd’s new baby boy, he knew that he wanted that with Derek. Stiles knew that Derek and him were ready to be together, to bring life into the world. He was scared, no matter what, trusting someone else with his body and giving it so freely was terrifying to Stiles but the fox knew without a shadow of a doubt that all of him is safe with Derek. The night of their mating was unlike anything Stiles had ever experienced. Given his past, Stiles had never known anything but a forceful and painful touch. . .but with Derek, with his mate, it was slow and loving and exhilarating. It was everything Stiles had never had before and when he cried on Derek’s shoulder, effectively terrifying the wolf, they were tears of joy and unadulterated love. When they discovered Stiles was pregnant, he cried. 

“Derek. . .” Stiles whimpered, walking into his Alpha’s home office timidly, carefully clutching at his sides, barely containing the sobs that threaten to spill out of his mouth.

“Stiles, what’s wrong?” Derek jumped to his feet, rushing to his obviously distressed mate, giving him a questioning look asking for permission to touch Stiles. Though the fox had made major strides in such a short time, there were still moments when he couldn’t stand to be touched, even by his mate. Especially in moments of distress. The fox gave him a small, tentative nod, allowing himself to be swept into his mate’s arms.

“Alpha-” he hiccups, “I’ve caught.”

“Caught what, love?” Derek questions worriedly.

“I’m p-pregnant, Der,” Stiles whimpers. His Alpha stiffens only for a moment then drops to his knees, a hand gently caressing his mate’s abdomen in wonder. 

“Really?” He asks breathlessly, Stiles only nods, “Baby, this is wonderful. . .why are you crying?”

“I-I don’t know,” Stiles cries, “I’m scared, I think.”

“Love, the pup isn’t going to be taken from you. This is our pup.  _ My  _ pup. I’d die before anything happened to it.” Derek assures him, “We’re going to be together, baby. A family. No one’s taking your kit from you.”

“D-Der,” Stiles whispers, suddenly feeling weak in the knees, “I love you so much.”

“I love you too, Stiles. More than anything.” Derek says, pulling his mate into a tight embrace, “And I love our pup.”

The Alpha kisses his mate with a fiery passion, deep and lovingly. The rest of the day is spent in their animal forms, sunbathing and cuddling. Stiles was terrified, and he remained terrified even after the pup was born. But the pack rallied behind Stiles, and loved every moment of having their packmate pregnant and glowing. Of course there were days when Stiles yelled at everyone. Days where he became so irritable he would snap at his mate, storm out of the house or break down and cry. Sometimes all three. There were days when Stiles would sit by his family’s grave and cry for them and days when he would spend hours talking to them as if they were right in front of him. But when his pup was born, a perfectly healthy little wolf, well Stiles couldn’t be happier. He brought her home with Derek and the pack, guarding her for the first few weeks, doting on her every single day. She would squeal and cry and Stiles would come running to her side. Derek had been no better. 

Stiles cried in joy when he watched his mate holding their little bundle, cooing and singing to her. They named her Laura, after Derek’s sister. The baby girl would smack her little lips and blow bubbles at anyone who payed any attention to her, she babbled almost as much as Stiles does. Her little green eyes shine with intelligence. Derek would often wake up in the middle of the night to find that Stiles had left their bed and taken his pup out of her crib to sleep with her. He would find them in the nursery, in an extremely cozy nest, shifted and cuddling. Stiles would be wrapped around their daughter, grooming or sleeping peacefully. A red fox curled around a little black pup. Derek found it entirely too cute and endearing. He would shift and wrap himself around his little family, his black fur enveloping the two of them in his warmth easily. It was quite a sight. 

Derek secretly loved those moments with his mate and pup. The quiet moments when all was still and perfect. They were safe and together. Nothing could tear them out of that space. Derek also loved the loud moments, the times when he would wake up to find his pack bustling about the house, shouting and having fun. They revolved around children, with Erica and Boyd’s little boy, who was a year old when Laura was born. When Stiles smelled Allison a month after Laura’s birth and smelled her pregnancy, he hugged his brother tightly. The two of them wouldn’t let go of one another for almost an hour, their shared emotions so strong that they couldn’t bear to part with one another. Isaac had mated to Allison a year after Stiles’s death and resurrection. Stiles had never been prouder or happier for his brother until the revelation of Allison’s pregnancy when Laura was only a few months old. 

“We did it, brother,” Isaac whispered into his brother’s embrace, “We made it, didn’t we?”

“Yeah, Izzy. We made it.” Stiles chuckled tearily. 

“I told you we would,” Isaac laughed.

“You really did,” Stiles conceded, “I never would have believed this would happen to me, to  _ us.  _ But now that we have it, I’m not letting it go.”

“Me either.” Isaac whispered.

“Live together,” Stiles said, clasping his hand around Isaac’s in an unbreakable grip.

“Die together.” Isaac finished their vow.

It took years for Stiles and Isaac to be okay again, and some days were much harder than others. But with the pack by their side, with their little bundles of joy that they had only dared to hope for only three short years ago, they found themselves healing together. 

Derek knows that Stiles has never been self-conscious of his body, of his scars. But when their child was born, his mate became saddened by his body. Stiles didn’t like that he would have to tell Laura one day why he’s scarred. He’ll have to tell her about his nightmares, he’ll have to explain why some people are bad and he’ll have to teach her how to fight, now to kill. Because even though he never wants her to find herself in a situation like his, God forbid, he wants her to be able to protect herself. Derek understood completely and agreed that they would both teach her, the entire pack would help. As she grew, much too quickly for Stiles’s liking, she became outgoing and smart. She would babble for hours without stopping and ran from her fathers with the biggest grin on her face. She was entirely too troublemaking for her own good. But she was also fiercely protective of Stiles. Even as a three year old, when an older man in the supermarket grabbed Stiles’s ass roughly and uttered something entirely too dirty for the ice cream aisle, Laura could smell her papa’s emotions, growled and swiped her chubby little hands at the man, scratching his arm in the process.

“Meanie!” She shrieked. Laura proceeded to yell at the man, red faced and pissed. Her dark little eyebrows scrunch together in a way that Stiles knew to be the same way Derek looks when he’s angry. Her jumps about in the shopping cart, causing her dark hair to fly about and her pink tutu to crinkle. She caused a pretty damn good scene in the middle of the store and alerted the store manager to their predicament. Stiles was quick to take his daughter in his arms and nuzzle against her, calming his pup.

“Is there a problem here?” The manager asked, looking between Stiles and the man who grabbed his ass.

“Yes, actually there is. This man just put his hands on me and said something very inappropriate in front of my daughter.” Stiles gritted through his teeth. His skin is crawling from the whole ordeal. The unwanted touching shoots ice through his veins and he’s struggling to maintain a calm appearance when inside, a tsunami of emotion is brewing. 

“Are you wanting to press charges?” The manager asks the disgruntled fox.

“No, I just want him dealt with.” Stiles says shakily.

“Understood, sir. We’re very sorry that your visit to the store has been disrupted in the worst way. Allow me to walk you to the cashier and your groceries will be on the house today.” The manager offered to which Stiles gave a small nod and followed him to the front of the store, a large security guard came walking up to the small group and took the man who grabbed Stiles towards the back office.

Stiles managed to maintain his cool until he made it out to his car. Laura has her little arms around Stiles’s neck, scenting and trying to comfort her distressed father. Stiles is shaking too much for her liking and she became afraid for her papa. So she reached for his phone and with chubby fingers, found her daddy’s number. 

“Hey, babe. How’s shopping?” Her daddy spoke through the phone cheerily.

“Daddy!” Laura shouts into the phone.

“Laura? What’s wrong? Where’s papa, baby?” Her daddy speaks frantically now.

“Papa’s scared, daddy.” She says urgently.

“Okay, baby, I’ll be right there, are you both safe for the moment?” Derek asks. He’s never been happier that Laura has a nasty habit of stealing their phones to play games.

“Papa’s not talking, daddy, he’s shaking really bad.” Laura says, huffing in emotion.

“Are you with papa, can he hear me?” Derek asks, the engine of the camaro could be heard. Peter grabbed the phone from Derek.

“Laura, sweetie, can you nuzzle against your papa’s neck? Can you calm him down?” Peter asks.

“I tried already, unka Peter.” She says in annoyance, “Papa? Papa!”

“What’s happening sweetie?” Peter asks, keeping her talking on the phone while Derek speeds to his mate and child.

“I don’t know, daddy.” Laura whimpers through the phone.

“It’s okay, baby, we’ll be there in a few minutes, just don’t leave him, okay? And stay on the phone with us.” Derek instructs his daughter as calmly as he can, “Stiles, love we’re close okay? Whatever happened, just breathe, in and out. Focus on Laura.”

“D-Der-” Stiles said through the phone, breathing heavily now. 

“Hold on, baby. We’re almost there.” Derek says consolingly. 

When they finally reach the parking lot of the grocery store, Derek practically vaults out of his car and finds his mate standing with his back to the jeep, visibly shaking with tears running down his cheeks and Laura in his arms, wrapped around him like an octopus. The Alpha enveloped his family in his arms and gave Stiles a moment to collect himself, talking him through some breathing exercises and allowing his mate to come down on his own. Laura isn’t crying, she wasn’t scared, only worried for her papa. She refused to let go of Stiles on the way back to the house. Stiles clutched to her just as tightly as Laura clutches at her papa. When they’re safely back inside the house, Derek coaxes Stiles into his fox form, curling around him and Laura in their den. 

It took a while for Stiles to tell Derek what had happened. Stiles had felt shameful for reacting so poorly to the whole situation. He had freaked out in front of his daughter. He could have gotten them both into trouble. That incident served as a reminder to Stiles of the danger in the world. It took Derek a month of convincing Stiles that not all humans are like that dick in the supermarket. Eventually, Stiles believed him again. They still had their bad days, days when Melissa would try to visit and Stiles would have a panic attack. She had tried multiple times over the course of the past five years. She had brought by a new baby blanket for Laura at Stiles’s baby shower. She had tried to visit once she was born, again bringing a little stuffed teddy bear. She did the same for Isaac and Allison’s baby boy, Carter. Both Laura and Carter grew up with little knowledge of their parent’s past life and that included Melissa. The pups were born only a year apart and are as fiercely loyal to each other as Stiles and Isaac are to each other. They were placed in the same pre-kinder class at the age of four, which was much too young in Stiles’s opinion. That is where they had their first run in with Melissa. The woman had gone to great lengths to speak to Stiles and Isaac but had failed. She wanted desperately to be in their lives again, to be in their children’s lives, but the both of them couldn’t put their foots down fast enough. Scott and his mother were close, but after all that had happened, even he was wary of her. 

It hurt the wolf to know that his mother would never fully be a member of his pack, but he cared about Stiles and Isaac too much to ruin their happiness even more than his mother already had. Him and Kira had their first daughter, Mira, the same year as Erica and Boyd had their child, Jace. All the pups were heavily guarded. Their parents did everything in their power to protect their children from anyone who could hurt them and that included Melissa. Though Scott and Kira would never fully keep their child from her grandmother, they never let Melissa alone with her for more than a few hours when necessary. It broke Melissa’s heart but she never stopped trying to be in their lives. It all came to a T when the kids were at school one day. They had just started kindergarten and Stiles had just started feeling comfortable leaving his daughter with strangers. Derek assured him that it would all be fine. That she would have fun, that she would be safe. And she was, she’s surrounded by pack at her school. She’s got Carter in her class, Jace and Mira one year ahead of them. They’re perfectly safe together. One day, however, the pack was occupied in the preserve, dealing with a rogue omega that had wandered into Hale territory and was going to miss pick up time. So naturally, the pups would all go straight to after care at the school. 

But this day was different because just as the four pups got to the after care center, they came into contact with Melissa. She had come to see her granddaughter and found the four pups, sitting in the carpeted area, eating their after school snack. The four pups don’t sit too far from one another, they share their food and sit completely unaware of Melissa’s approach. But Melissa is all too happy to have the chance to talk to the pups. Mira notices her grandmother first, she lifts her head and sees Melissa coming closer to them.

“Grandma!” She smiles and gives her a hug, “What’re you doin here?”

“Hey, Mir!” Melissa smiles and lifts her up, “How are you, baby girl?” 

“Good! We’re waiting for our mommies and daddies to come get us.” Mira smiles brightly, twirling her dark hair in her fingers. 

“Oh! Really? Well, I can take you guys to the house and watch you till your parents come home.” Melissa offers with a smile.

“Mommy and daddy say not to be around you.” Carter says carefully, pulling Laura behind him. Jace eyes his pack mates and scoots towards Laura and Carter. His dark eyes zero in on Melissa and calculate how he can get Mira back with the three of them. With pack. Because this woman, even though she is Mira’s grandmother, she does not smell like pack. And he knows that is dangerous. The six year old is wary of Melissa and knows that if Carter and Laura are cautious, then he better be too. 

“That’s because your daddy is mad at me. But I’ve known him since he was a baby, and I love him very much.” Melissa says to Carter, spinning her own story. This is the first time she’s gotten to see him in person and oh how he looks so much like Isaac. Same sandy blonde curls, same dimples, same jaw. But his eyes are dark, a deep chocolate brown and his nose is too pointed. These traits he definitely acquired from his mother, Allison. 

“You look so much like him, Carter.” Melissa remarks.

“Mira,” Jace calls his friend, “Come here.” 

Though Mira likes her grandma, she knows that her mommy and daddy don’t like them being alone. She knows that her grandma isn’t supposed to be here and that she’s not supposed to take the pups anywhere. So she squirmed out of Melissa’s embrace and quickly leaped into the arms of her packmates. The four pups crowd together, still very unsure of what to do. Jace looks around for a teacher but can’t seem to find one. Then Melissa’s eyes land on Laura. And for a moment, she marvels at the girl’s beauty. Stiles had been an attractive child as well and she distinctly remembers the patterns of moles dotting his skin, the same pattern that dots Laura’s. Her bone structure is unmistakably like Stiles’s but her eyes and hair. . .that's all Derek. She's absolutely gorgeous, a perfect mix of both the fox and the wolf. 

“You look just like your papa, too.” Melissa smiled fondly at the girl. 

“Papa’s gonna be here soon. He doesn't wanna see you.” Laura says bluntly.

“I know, sweetie, he's just mad at me but I'm not a bad person. I just want him to know I still love him and-”

“Get the hell away from my daughter.” A menacing growl echoed from the doorway and Stiles stalked up to the pups, growling at Melissa.

“Mom! What are you doing here?” Scott questioned, Kira rushed behind him to swipe her daughter into her arms, giving her mate and mother in law a worried glance.

“Papa!” Laura whimpered, effectively gaining her father's attention. The moment Stiles’s eyes land on his little girl, he softens completely. He moves like a flash of lightning and takes his daughter into his arms, clutching her tightly to his chest. She shoves her nose into the crook of his neck, hiding her face from the world and clings to him. Derek takes a defensive stance in front of his mate and child, protecting them from Melissa. Allison takes Carter into her arms and holds him tightly, Isaac steps in front of them, much like Derek had and Boyd puts an arm around his boy, who hides behind his leg, clinging to Boyd’s jeans. Erica simply snarls at Melissa with a hand on her son's shoulder.

“I just wanted to-”

“We told you we wanted nothing to do with you. We don't want you near our children.” Derek tells her.

“I know but-”

“Melissa, don’t even try to explain.” Stiles snarled, “If you even think about coming near our pups again, I’ll kill you.”

“Stiles, I know you’re upset with my but this is ridiculous!” Melissa shouts indignantly.

“You would do well to listen to my mate.” Derek growls, “We don’t want you near her. Or Carter. Or Jace. And it is completely inappropriate to corner them without their parents.”

“I was just-”

“Mom. I think it’s best you leave.” Scott says sternly.

She looks at her son with such utter heartbreak and outrage that for a moment, Scott is afraid that she’s going to make a scene. But she quickly takes a step backwards and with one final huff of indignation, she leaves. Stiles clutches Laura to his chest tightly, burying his own nose in his daughter’s dark hair. 

“Papa can we go home?” She asks quietly.

“Yeah, baby. Let’s go.” Stiles grasps Derek’s hand and leads the pack out with their pups safely in their arms. Derek swings an arm to the floor and sweeps his daughter’s backpack onto his back and resumes their walk to the cars. When they get back to the Hale house, the pups are rushed off to their rooms to get ready for an impromptu pack night. Stiles doesn’t even speak as he stalks up to their suite to get Laura into a bath and her PJs. Isaac pulls Derek to the side and gives him a sad look.

“He’s not going to let Laura go to school anymore.” Isaac sighs.

“She’s going back to school, Isaac. We’re just going to have to let the school know that Melissa can’t be around her. Or the pups. We’ll even take out a restraining order.” Derek says. 

“Babe,” Allison called to Isaac, “I’m taking Carter up for a bath. He wants you to wash his hair.”

“Be right there, Al.” Isaac tells her, “Derek, you need to go talk to him.” 

“I know.” Derek sighs. Just as he’s about to head up the stairs, Ethan and Aiden walk into the house, “Can you both set up the pack room?”

“What happened?” Ethan asked quickly.

“Melissa cornered the kids at school.” Derek grunts with a deep frown.

“What the hell?” Aiden shouts angrily.

“I know, I know. Just get everything set up, please. Is Danny coming over tonight?” 

“Yeah, he’ll be here around six.” Ethan replies.

“Good. After you set it all up please order take out for everyone.” Derek instructs. The betas give him a nod and head towards the pack room to do as they were asked. 

When Derek gets upstairs, he can hear Laura talking adamantly about what she did that day before Melissa got to the school. Stiles is washing her hair with a deep frown on his face but Laura can’t see that. She can’t see the small vein in his forehead that’s pulsing in anger or the hints of tears in his eyes. She can’t see the war raging in his head. But Derek can. Derek sees it all. 

“Stiles-”

“Derek, don’t. I told you that she would try to see Laura. I knew that she would keep trying.” Stiles growls.

“I’m okay, papa,” Laura says, stopping their argument before it even starts, “I like school. I like my friends and my teachers. Lissa was scary but she won’t come back.”

“Lissa.” Stiles huffs angrily. The idea of his daughter calling that woman what he had called her at that age was. . .it through him through a loop. An angry loop. 

“Papa!”

“Yes, baby.” Stiles sighs.

“I’m okay.” She tells him, her eyes so wide and innocent yet deeply understanding. Her little hazel green eyes bore into her father’s soul. Stiles takes in the sight of his little girl. Her soapy little body and wet hair. Her determined and soft gaze. Her slightly upturned nose scrunched up in a fierce look. And Stiles knows that she was okay. That he isn’t going to be there to protect her against every little threat. Derek watches his daughter take all the fight, all the fear, all the anger out of his mate. Stiles relaxes almost instantly and offers Laura a smile.

“Alright, cub. Let’s get you in some PJs.” Stiles says, lifting her out of the tub and into a towel in Derek’s waiting arms. She giggles when her father wraps her like a burrito in her towel and tickles her sides.

“Daddy! Stop!” She giggles, “Ah!”

Derek laughs and obliges almost hesitantly. After they get her into her Hello Kitty pajamas, they sent her downstairs to play with the other pups while Derek had some ‘grownup time’ with Stiles.

“Stiles, I know what a big deal this is, and believe me, I don’t want Melissa anywhere near Laura.” Derek pulls his mate into his hug.

“I’m pregnant.” Stiles blurted. He had found out earlier this morning when he first scented the same hormones that gave Laura away when Stiles had been pregnant with her. Derek stiffened immediately.

“Really?” He whispered.

“Yes. Only. . .” Stiles hesitated.

“What, baby?”

“It’s not just-” Stiles tears up, “It’s not just  _ one _ .”

“Twins?” Derek asks in such a quiet voice that even as a shifter, his surgically enhanced ears could hardly pick it up.The amazement and sheer love in his eyes overwhelmed Stiles. He nods at his mate and begins to cry.

“Twins,” Stiles affirms.

“I love you,” Derek says breathlessly, pulling him in for a kiss.

In nine months, the twins were born. Two little boys, werefoxes. Their identical to one another in looks but completely different in personality, but their closeness is uncomparable. Their devotion to Laura and hers to them is unparalleled. Jacob and Jared, the two little boys were the shining new additions to the pack. Stiles was equally terrified and thrilled at his babies being foxes. But the pack assured him that they would all be together, protecting them. That they wouldn’t be hunted like Stiles had been. That their boys wouldn’t be captured and tortured. They would be together for the rest of their lives. A family. 

And after ten years of marriage, Stiles has three children and one more on the way, a loving mate, dedicated pack. . .he has a life. Exactly what he wanted. Exactly what he had dared to hope for. And Stiles, knows that his kit and his parents, are looking down and protecting them. The universe had finally come around and given him everything he had always wished for. And he is happy. Isaac is happy. They’re alive again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank all of my readers, I loved reading your comments and getting all your feedback. Seriously, you were all the reason I kept writing. I wanted to end this on the tenth chapter with a happy ending because Stiles and Isaac, they deserve happiness. I'm a sucker for a happy ending. So as always, please let me know what you think and thank you again for all your support! I deeply appreciate and love it. Also, please feel free to stay tuned because you never know. . . there may be a sequel. ;)

**Author's Note:**

> Told you


End file.
